The Warden Twins
by Katalini
Summary: A Blight is among the lands. Grey Wardens are needed. What did Duncan think when he recruited not one, but two Couslands? What will unfold when twins Keira and Gavin Cousland embark on their journey to end the Blight? WIP
1. Life at Cousland Castle

_**Edit: 3/28/12 **_**- **_Ha! I'm back. Doing more revisions now and what not. :) _

_**AN:** Sooo basically, this is my playthrough character, Keira Cousland, and her journey through the events in DAO. However, I became curious... I wondered, "What if there was another Cousland child? Possibly, a twin?" So there it was. I just had it stuck in my head and I felt the need to make a story around it. So with Keira Cousland comes her twin, Gavin Cousland, and they go through the events that take place in DAO._

_Now, read :D_

_Oh, and also, anything Dragon Age related belongs to Bioware, of course. I own nothing :(_

* * *

**Chapter 1. Life at Castle Cousland**

"KEIRAAA!"

All I heard was yelling, followed by pounding on my door. Another typical day in the life of Keira Cousland.

Great.

Tuning out the yelling, I rolled out of bed and got dressed. Even though Mother wanted me to dress nicely for today's guests, that new leather armor was calling my name. Honestly, I thought armor was much more practical than a silk dress, right?

I took in the smell of my new studded leather armor, very pleased with the scent. It has that certain odor that I loved so very much. I quickly found a pair of boots to match.

While on the way out, I caught my reflection in the mirror and stopped for a moment. I tried to tame the loose espresso waves that fell around my face. It seemed to get in the way at times, though Mother adored it, as it reminded herself of her past youth.

She was pleased with the features I had gotten from her; Prodigious jade eyes, heart shaped face, full pink lips.

"All the features a suitor desired!" She would always say.

By suitor, she meant an arrogant asshole that flaunted his money in everyone's face. To her, a good social status meant a good husband. To me, that was not the case.

Finding my brother and I suitors was one of the first things on her mind. My eldest brother Fergus was already married and had a child, and my mother thought it to be fit to get us married off as well. The thought of marriage didn't even cross my brother's mind, "If I'm up and kickin', I'm not pickin'" says the bachelor. As for me, I will not spend every waking minute trying to find a husband, unlike the other many daughters of noble families.

I sighed quietly to myself.

I expected the day to be drawn out and uneventful, to say the least.

Being a member of the Cousland household, my life was filled with duties, responsibilites, morals, and a reputation to maintain for my family. The Couslands, being only second to royalty, always had to act well and presentable in public. Anything done wrong would risk embarrassment to my family. No pressure, right? It wasn't any better knowing if all eyes weren't directed toward my parents, they were always on the children. Those children being my brother, Fergus, my twin, Gavin, and me. I should be used to the attention by now, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. I want to think that everyone paid more attention to Fergus, for being the oldest and most likely to become Teryn after my father. However, twins weren't exactly common around here and gathered a fair amount of attention. In fact, Gavin and I are the only Cousland twins we have on record. Having no family history of twins, our birth was a surprise to everyone. Our parents were ecstatic to when we were born, to say the least. I couldn't say the same for Nan, though. Maker bless her! Nan is our castle cook now, but she had to put up with Gavin and I for so many years, and I cannot say that is an easy task.

She always told me of how it was difficult when caring for us even when we were just little babes. The main reason being she couldn't tell us apart at a moment's notice. When we were that age, we both had bright green eyes, and dark brown hair. However, as we grew older, she could tell us apart much better, due to obvious reasons. Though as we grew older, we became more "naughty", as she would say. Always getting into trouble, she thought.

"Keira! Open up already!" I sighed.

I opened my door only to find Gavin. Was I shocked? Not one bit.

"Keira! Come on! Mother's been asking for you all morning. I told her I'd fetch you, and do you know how mad she would've been if I didn't get you soon? Why I bet she'd-"

I sighed and listened to my brother's babble. He's quite the character, always being dramatic, sarcastic, and his story telling! He's worse than me when it comes to exaggerating a story. Though I would never really admit it, I loved my brother. Sometimes, that is. After a couple more minutes he was done with his long tale about his dramatic search to find me.

"And finally, I figured you were in your room! And sure enough, you were!" He had a grin from ear to ear on his accomplishment. I laughed and gave him an applause. He quickly began to bow, saying "Thank you" over and over.

After that was done, we made our way toward the atrium. I saw Mother standing there talking to one of the guards. The guard nodded and dismissed by the time we got over there.

"Oh good," she said, "You were able to find Keira. Thank you, Gavin."

I smiled sheepishly, "I was still sleeping, Mother."

"Well, I'm glad you were able to awaken by now, Lady Landra and her son will arrive shortly, and I need you two to be on your best behavior." She glanced over at me and raised a brow, "And what is that, my dear? I had a nice silk dress from Orlais for you to wear today."

"Um.." Crap. Looking for an excuse, I quickly looked over to Gavin with wide eyes.

"Erm, She was going to spar with me today, Mother." Gavin answered.

I joined in, "Yes, that's right. Sorry Mother, I forgot about the dress."

She sighed and shook her head, "Well nevermind the dress then. I must be off to greet Lady Landra." We nodded and she was off to the main gate.

I turned to my brother with a big grin on my face, "So, did you really want to spar?"

He smirked, "You know me too well."

We went to one of the training rooms that's usually used by the guards. They never mind when we use it. When it came to fighting, my brother and I had very different strategies. My brother used more of his strength in his attacks, while I used more finesse and quick movements. Also, he tends to use a sword and shield, like Fergus. I, on the other hand, like to use two daggers, or a sword and dagger. When growing up, I always had trouble balancing a shield while using a sword. When some of the knights noticed this, they suggested I tried using a bow, like my mother used back in her day. If I had just practiced more with that, I probably would have gotten better. Eventually, I started training with two daggers, one in each hand. After that, everything just seemed to click. My moves just kind of flowed together. Some of the guards commented on how I fought gracefully. Ever since then, I have always fought with two blades in close combat.

After a couple rounds of sparring, we both decided to take a break. Gavin made his leave, saying he wanted to give Nan a visit.

I myself headed to the main hall, wanting to speak with Father. I wanted to speak with him about the upcoming battle...

* * *

_Alright, well next chapter will be longer, and will take place at the time you start playing in the actual game. I just kind of wanted to introduce Keira and Gavin in this chapter first, how their general appearance is, how they were dealt with as twins, and stuff like that I suppose. Next chapter should be up soon :) Reviews are welcome! Also, if there are any typos I missed, anything you like, dislike, and such, feel free to point them out! Please and thank you :)_

_-Kat_


	2. Ambush

_**A/N:** Hey guys! Thanks for the feedback so far! So get ready, this is gonna be a long chapter! Much longer than the last. Be prepared. And Enjoy :)_

_Edit: I gave a little bit of background on Grey Wardens in the first paragraph. I had one of my friends read it, and since they never played Dragon Age, they didn't get it. So I thought it'd be best to give a little background, so you know what Grey Wardens are, in case no one knew :) Besides, background info is always good to have, right?_

* * *

**Chapter 2. Ambush**

_KeiraPOV_

Find Gavin. Send the message to Fergus. Got it.

I exited the main hall and into the hallway. Father had gotten rid of me, for the time being. He had to discuss his plans with Rendon and Duncan, the Grey Warden, though I'm fairly certain he made me take an early leave simply because the Grey Warden was interested in recruiting Gavin and I. From what I remember my tutor tellling me, Grey Wardens were a high order of warriors. Their tale always had fascinated me in my childhood. The Grey Wardens would fight and protect the people from evil creatures called Darkspawn. They also stopped the past four Blights, which were periods in which the Darkspawn corrupt an Old God and create never ending chaos and destruction, or something along the lines of that. It's been ages since the last Blight though, so it all just seems like an old bed time story to me. Grey Wardens would also recruit their members, and Duncan came here for that purpose. Father wouldn't allow me being recruited, of course. He still considers me his "little girl", and if anything were to happen to Fergus or Father, Gavin would become Teryn. I can't say I was happy with our talk about the battle ahead. Gavin and I wanted to go so badly! Even though Gavin wasn't there with me, he had told me earlier during sparring how he wanted to join Fergus and Father as well. I understand what Father needs of us, to run the castle while he's away. It just doesn't seem fair though, but maybe I can change his mind before tomorrow morning.

Now, to look for Fergus and Gavin.

I rounded the corner, heading toward Fergus' room, when a familiar red-haired knight bumped into me.

"S-Sorry, I apologize, my lady." Ser Gilmore backed up a bit, "I didn't mean to... I mean, I've been searching for you. Your mother wants you to retrieve your hound, Carlin." He chuckled, "He seems to have made his way into the larder yet again. Nan's having a fit, though, from the yelling I'm sure you knew that. Gavin tried getting him out, but didn't want to risk having his hand bitten off." Though I knew Carlin knew better than to hurt anyone, Gavin always thought he would lose a limb to that hound.

I giggled, "Well hello to you too, Ser Gilmore." It was strange, I always seemed to giggle around him. I guess you could say I had a little crush on him. Which I've had for the longest time. I could never say how I felt to him though. If Mother wanted me to pick a suitor on the spot, I'd pick Rory. We got along great, and unlike other suitors, he wasn't afraid to go sparring with me.

Ser Gilmore's face reddened, "Sorry for my abruptness, my lady. Your mother just said it was urgent."

"Well, then let us be off to the kitchen! Shall we?" I raised a brow and motioned my hand down the hallway. "Oh, and Rory, you know you can just call me Keira. We don't need any formalities," I smiled, "Maker's breath, we've known each other since we were kids!" I remember back in my childhood, Ser Gilmore, with the other squires, would learn about the Cousland family history with Gavin and I. Rory felt that formalities were needed, especially when talking to someone "of my stature". I thought this was nonsense, but he usually insists it if others are around.

He looked around to be sure Mother or anyone was not around. "Of course, my la-, I mean, Keira." He smiled. We made our way down the hall. With every step we took the yelling became louder and louder. I could tell Nan was really having another fit again. I sighed, I could also hear Gavin's voice mixed in the yelling. Oh Maker.

We entered the kitchen. Though Nan's servants tried calming her down, it didn't do much good. Nan asked me calmly to get Carlin out, after complaining about how he always gets into the larder. I reassured her I'll get him out, and then turned to Gavin. He looked quite frantic.

"KEIRA!" Gavin screeched. He stomped over to me, looked me square in the eye, and held up his index finger saying "You see this?" He flailed his finger around, "I almost LOST it a couple minutes ago! I swear! I tried getting him out! I really did! He just growled at me when I opened the door. So I slammed it shut and never went back."

I sighed, "How could you have almost lost it if he only growled at you?"

"Um." He looked down sheeplishly, "I-I.. I assumed? Exaggerated? You know how I am, Keira," He smirked, "Carlin just scares me now and then, that's all." I laughed and rolled my eyes. Typical answer.

"Just come help me deal with him. I **promise **he won't bite," I smirked, "If Rory can handle it so can you." After some coercing, he quickly joined Rory and I into the larder. I looked down to find Carlin, he was going nuts! It looked like he was trying to tell me something. We quickly found out there were rats in the larder! They were huge! But this didn't stop us from getting rid of them quickly.

I wiped off my hands, admired our work, and smiled, "I believe our work here is done."

"Well, since you've got Carlin taken care of, I best be off," Rory said. Gavin waved, "See you Rory." He waved back at us. He turned and was about to make his way out, unless I had something to say about it.

"Wait!" I called out.

"Yes, my lady? What is it?"

"I-I.." I paused, what was I thinking? This wasn't the time. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow, right?"

He chuckled and pointed at both of us, "Of course, I'll see both of you tomorrow," he smiled at me, "Until then." I smiled back and he made his way out. I heard a sigh escape from Gavin, "The sexual tension between you two is driving me insane."

"Did you really just say that?" He was completely serious too! He's insane. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yes you do!" He replied in a sing-song voice. I rolled my eyes and we exited the larder. We talked with Nan for a bit and the servants quickly saw the rats. Lucky for Carlin, this led Nan to reluctantly rewarding him with some pork bits. We made our way to the atrium, toward our rooms, and we were stopped by Mother and Lady Landra.

"Oh there you two are!" Mother said. She looked down at Carlin and back to us, "I see it you have him taken care of and Nan is back to work as we speak?"

"Yup, Carlin ate the servants and Nan's head exploded." I replied.

"Oh, and I lost my finger." Added Gavin.

Mother sighed, "Of course." She was already use to our sarcastic remarks, it's a shame. She introduced us to her guests, though I remember Lady Landra and Dairren from Mother's spring salon. We both did. She was **ridiculously** drunk. She tried to get me to marry Dairren and she constantly flirted with Gavin. As we were greeting our guests, I noticed a huge smile on Gavin's face. He couldn't take his eyes off of the lady-in-waiting, Iona. _He would_, I thought to myself. As for me, I had no interest in Dairren. They excused themselves and we spoke with Mother.

"You two should speak to Fergus before he heads off to battle."

"We will," Gavin replied, "Oh, and did you know there was a Grey Warden here, Mother?"

This caught me by surprise, "Wait, you met him?" I asked.

He nodded, "Yes, fairly early this morning when he arrived. I had a chat with Father and that's when I met him. Of course, you were still asleep at that time."

Mother gave us that look. The look of disapproval. We hated that look. She began talking in a serious tone, "You two haven't got it into your heads that you'll be recruited, right?"

We looked at each other and shook our head, "Erhm.. No, of course not." We both said.

"Good," Mother let a sigh of relief, "You both will have many things to occupy yourselves with at the castle while I'm gone."

"Wait, you're leaving too?" I asked.

Mother nodded, "Yes, in a few days I will be traveling to Lady Landra's estate to keep her company. Your father said my presence might undermine both of your authorities."

Gavin smirked, he liked the idea of being in charge, though I felt uneasy about it myself. "As you wish, Mother dear." He said.

Mother looked pleased with his answer and smiled. "Good," She said, "With the two of you, running the castle should prove to be quite easy."

I nodded and started to slowly make my way upstairs, "At any rate," I said, "We should go to see Fergus." As we were heading off, Mother stopped us for a second.

"Wait," she said. We came back over a bit confused and she placed her hands gently on each of our shoulders. What was it that she wanted to tell us? "You two are my darling children. I love both of you and you always make me proud, you know that right?" I certainly didn't expect that.

I glanced at Gavin and he glanced at me, we both turned back to Mother with confused faces. "We love you too, Mother." I said. "Very much so!" Gavin added in. "But, what exactly brought this on?" I asked.

She sighed, "Is a mother not allowed to tell her children this?," she brought her hands back down from our shoulders and softly chuckled, "You two are just growing up so fast, Maker, you both will be running the castle! I turned around and you both grew into fine, young adults. But it doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Moooother!" We both cried out in embarrassment. She rarely tells us something like that, and we can't help but feel embarrassed sometimes. We both gave her a kiss on the cheek before she told us to go see Fergus. As we were making our way up to the bedrooms, Gavin stopped. He said, "You know, I'm going to run to the study and I'll be right back up! See you in a bit!" With that, he ran back downstairs. He spoke so fast I hardly understood him. I just shrugged and made my way to the bedrooms. Fergus's room was right across from mine. Gavin's room, however is to the right of mine, sitting next to it. I never really liked how our room's were right next to each other, I could usually hear what went on in his room...

I shuddered to this thought and quickly entered Fergus's room.

He was currently saying his goodbyes to Oriana and Oren, and I didn't want to interupt. He noticed me standing in the doorway, saying "There you are, Keira! I was beginning to think my own sister wouldn't see me off." He peered over my shoulder, "Where's Gavin?"

"He's over in the..."

"Right here!" I heard behind me, I glanced back to see Gavin has returned from the study.

"Splendid!" Fegus said as he pulled both of us into one of his big bear hugs. I could hear Oren giggle at my not-being-able-to-breathe-in-a-Fergus-bear-hug face.

As that was over, we talked with Fergus for a bit. We told him how much we wanted to go with him. He just chuckled saying he wishes he could have us at his side as well. Oriana told me she will do what she can to help out while Fergus is gone. Oren also had a few words with Gavin and I about making sure the castle isn't boring while we're in charge. We talked of some other things before I gave him Father's message. Soon after I told him, Mother and Father entered the room.

I turned to Father, "So basically, you could have delivered the message yourself."

He chuckled, "And miss not seeing all my children in one place at the same time before I go? Not likely."

Mother said her goodbye to Fergus, and Oriana said a prayer for everyone to return home safely. Mother and Father talked to Fergus and Oriana, while Oren struck up a conversation with Gavin and I.

He turned to both of us, "Auntie, Uncle," he said, "If you two are going to be watching us, will you teach me how to use a sword too?" His eyes brightened up with excitement. He's always wanted to learn how to fight for as long as I can remember. It fascinated him when he would watch Fergus, Gavin, and I spar with each other.

Gavin laughed and picked up Oren. He smirked and whispered, "I'll sneak you to the training rooms and I'll teach you how to fight, I will!" I added in, "And if you're lucky, you could spar with Carlin too!" Carlin barked with his approval.

Apparantly we didn't whisper quiet enough. Oriana sighed, "Fergus, there are times your family causes me great pain." We smiled at her awkwardly and Gavin set down Oren. We talked with the family a bit more. Fergus told us to look after Mother, and we noted how really she should be the one going instead of Fergus, to nag all the darkspawn. Mother didn't really laugh at our jokes, but what can you expect?

"You two best be off to bed soon," Father said, "You need to be up bright and early tomorrow."

"Getting sent to bed early now are we?" Fergus laughed.

"Have fun in that long, cold march to Ostagar." I smiled and said sarcastically. "I'll miss you too, sister dear." He replied.

Gavin had a huge smirk on his face, "Well, I don't mind. I have someone waiting for me."

"What?" Fergus smirked, "You sly dog!" Oriana didn't appreciate his comment, and neither did mother. However, he seemed to ignore it, and continued, "It's probably that elven girl that visited, isn't it?"Gavin nodded. Fergus raised a brow and turned to me, "What about you, little sister? Anyone I should know about?"

I crossed my arms and shook my head, "Nope. Nothing to worry about."

"Well good," he chuckled, "Besides, you're too good for any boy. If they don't appreciate you, don't bother."

"Feeergus!" I rolled my eyes, I hated it when he acted all protective. It's not that I didn't appreciate it, but he acts that way too often to keep track. We finished up our conversations before me and Gavin were about to head out. But we decided to have a chat with our Father before we left.

"Father," Gavin and I both said, "Are you sure you don't want us to come with you?"

He sighed, "You know what you both must do. Your duty right now is to look after the castle while we're gone. It's no easy task."

"We know," Gavin said, "But we hate to see you guys go off like this."

"I know, pup. But don't worry, we'll be back before you know it and I'll send word once we reach Ostagar."

"Father, please be careful?" I asked, "Both you and Fergus." I didn't want him to go. What if something happened? I could only expect the worst.

He smiled and said, "Don't worry, dear. We'll be fine. And I trust you two will be fine as well. You both have grown into responsible, fine adults." He softly chuckled to himself, "I remember when you two were only 10 years old, wanting to run the castle by yourselves. Ten years have passed since then and I am positive you two will do great. You're Couslands, after all." We smiled back at Father and we nodded. We didn't want to let him down one bit. We said our goodbyes to the rest of the family and headed out.

...

Barking. That's what I woke up to.

I woke up several times before, disturbed by what I was hearing from Gavin's room during the night. This time was different though. Carlin hadn't acted like this earlier. He was sleeping calmly when I retired for the night. He seemed very aggressive now.

"What is it boy?" He growled at the door in response. I could faintly hear yelling outside, and I think I could also hear fighting, too?

"Keira!" I heard my name. I could recognize that voice from anywhere. It was Gavin.

I quickly got my armor on, grabbed my two favorite blades and opened the door. One of Howe's men was trying to get in! I quickly slashed my blades at him, beheading him in the process. Another was coming at me, but Carlin quickly jumped on him and went at his throat. Good boy!

I looked around, and saw Gavin fighting off one of Howe's men, as I ran over he pushed him down with his shield and finished him off. His door was open, I glanced into his room to see the Iona, cold and lifeless on the ground. "What in Maker's name is happening?" I asked frantically.

"I think it's Howe's men. They betrayed us!" He spat through his teeth, "That lousy bastard betrayed us."

He told me I should grab my pack, being the only way to go is escaping the castle. I quickly went into my room, grabbed my backpack and came out. Then I realized something, "Wait, what about Mother?" His eyes became wide and we quickly made our way to her door. As if right on cue, she came out dressed in her old armor and wielding her bow. "I heard fighting." She said, "What's going on? Your father never came to bed."

"Howe's men." Gavin and I responded. "He betrayed us," Gavin said, "His men are attacking the castle, and," he looked down in rage, "They killed Iona." I noticed his fists balling up. Poor Gavin, poor Iona... This wasn't Gavin's fault.

Mother gasped, "What if they got to Lady Landra and her son too?" She began to pace toward their room, but she made a sudden stop. "What about Oren? Oriana?" Gavin and I look at each other frantically, please Maker, let them be alright! We rushed to their room only to find their motionless bodies on the floor. Tears started to run down my cheek. _No, no this can't be happening, _I thought. Mother took it the worst out of the three of us. I looked over to see Gavin just as upset as I. He wiped away a couple tears. Shortly after entering, we took Mother out of the room, she didn't want to see anymore.

We progressed through the castle. We found Lady Landra and Dairren dead. Mother blamed it on herself. Gavin and I tried to tell her otherwise, but she wouldn't have any of it. As we made it past the atrium, she told us that no matter what, Gavin and I had to make it out alive. Without us, the Cousland line would die here. Tonight. She told us to go to the main hall, saying that's where Father must be. We fought our way past more guards. I slashed my blades at them. Gavin stabbed and blocked with his sword and shield. Mother shot her arrows. Carlin ripped and tore guards apart. Soon we reached the family treasury. Mother gave us the key and told us we needed to recover the family sword and Highever shield. We quickly retrieved them, along with some injury kits and a Cousland guard shield.

We made our way to the main hall. As we entered, Rory and some guards were trying to fight some of Howe's men. We quickly came to their aide and helped. "Rory!" I yelled, I didn't care about formalities right now, "Are you alright?" I ran over to his side, checking for any wounds.

"I'm fine, Keira." He said. I'm surprised he dropped the formalities too. He looked over at Mother and Gavin, "You missed the Teryn, he came here looking for all of you. Since you all weren't here, he thought you'd be at the servant's entrance in the larder."

"Ser Gilmore," My mother spoke frantically, "Was he injured? How was he?"

"He.." Rory looked down, he mumbled, "He was pretty badly injured, my lady. Please, get to the larder as soon as you can."

"But what about you?" I asked. Maybe I could convince Rory to come with us!

Rory spoke in a serious tone, "I have to stay here. We're holding back the door from the rest of Howe's men getting in. You all need to go now. We can't hold it much longer."

"But.. You have to come with us, Rory. Please." I mumbled.

"Come now, dear. We must hurry." Mother said, she went toward the door, waiting for us to follow.

"One second Mother, meet us by the door." Gavin said. Mother nodded and went to the door, conversing with a guard while waiting.

I glanced over at Gavin, he gave me a nod, almost as if he was giving his approval. It was now or never. Rory noticed this, concern came on his face, "What is it, Keira? Gavin?" He looked at both of us. He bent down to be eye level at me, looking me straight in the eyes, "Please, Keira, there's no time to try and convince me to come. I have to stay, I need to buy time for you guys to escape."

"No, Rory.." I whispered. I cupped the side of his face with my left hand. "Please, come with us." Not thinking, I brought my lips to his and kissed him. He was surprised at first, but gave into it. I wish I could have told him how I felt a long time ago. I don't know how long we remained there, it seemed like it could have been for an eternity. I didn't want it to end. I pulled away and rested my forehead against his. "Please.. Rory, I love you. I have since we were children." I whispered. What timing to confess my love to someone.

He pulled my hand away from his cheek and held onto it. He smiled, "I never thought you'd say that. I've always admired you when growing up. I've always loved and adored you, Keira." He kissed me once again. "But that's why I have to do this, to protect you." He looked into my eyes, "You have to understand."

"Rory..." I whispered. He pulled in close to me, and exchanged one last, passionate kiss. "I'm sorry, Keira." He said. He headed back toward the doors, letting go of my hand. I tried going after him, but Gavin grabbed ahold of my arm. He started to pull me toward the door to meet up with our mother. "Let me go, Gavin!" I screamed. I looked at Rory and he looked back at me, "Please, go Keira! You must survive!" He yelled as he was leaning back on the door with the other guards. "Do it for me! I'll follow behind you!" What a lie. Though it gave me hope, I know this hope was only false.

That was the last thing I heard from him. I just felt completely blank. Gavin kept pulling me by the arm. I could hear Gavin and Mother talking, but I didn't pay attention to what they were saying. Before I knew it, we were already by the door to the larder. Gavin and Mother had begun pulling things into their pack, picking up anything that could be useful after we escape. I snapped myself out of this trance I was having, and realized we were close to Father! We opened the door, finding Father lying on the ground, blood everywhere on his clothes.

"Bryce!", Mother exclaimed. We all ran over to his side. "We were looking all over for you."

He painfully looked up at us, "You," he choked, "You all made it."

"Of course we did, Father!" I said, "C'mon, the exit is right there!"

"We can escape together!" Gavin added.

"I can't move, pups. I don't think I could make it out."

"We'll drag you out!" I said desperately. There is no way I'd let my Father lie here to await his death. We must get him out.

He said chuckled and said he couldn't. He wanted us to give Fergus a message, and tell him what has happened. We tried telling him he can do it himself, because we'll escape together. He wouldn't agree to any of it. He said he'll make it harder for us to escape. We swore to Father we would also take vengence on Arl Rendon Howe. I know for a fact Gavin and I wouldn't let him down on that. Shortly after, Duncan, the Grey Warden, came in. We were surprised he was still in the castle. Father asked Duncan if he could help Gavin, Carlin, Mother, and I out of the castle. He said he can take us to Ostagar, but for a price. Gavin and I must be recruited in the Grey Wardens, we were his first choices in recruits apparantly. Relunctantly, Father agreed. "You must fulfill your duties as a Grey Warden," Father said, "You two are Couslands, and we always see to our duties first, whether you get vengence or not." We both nodded. Mother deciced to stay to with Father, to defend him. No matter how much we protested, she would stay with him.

"Before you go you two, I need to give you both some things of mine." Painfully, Father reached with his arm behind his back, grabbed his weapons in their sheaths. "I know you two have been to the treasury and recovered the family sword and Highever shield, but I want you two to have some things of mine." He pulled out his sword and shield, the very ones he used during the Orlesian occupation, "Gavin, my dear son, I want you to have this. You and Fergus are my warriors, and my two, handsome boys. You were always a wonderful fighter. I know you'll use this well."

Gavin reached his hand out and grasped them into his hand. He looked my father in the eyes, "I'll do you proud father, I swear it." Tears streamed down my brother's face. Tears raced down my cheeks as well. Oh Maker, why did all this happen?

Father then turned to me, and I couldn't help but sob even more. "Keira, my darling girl, I leave you this.. I knew you were always a rogue fighter at heart." He smirked, "Your graceful fighting style always struck the guards, and myself, with awe." He handed me his dagger. He always kept this blade with him. This was passed down from Grandfather to my Father.. I didn't think that I would be the one he'd pass it on to. I couldn't stop sobbing, "I'll use it well father, I promise."

Duncan conversed some more before we went. Much to my dismay, my mother still decided to stay to defend my father. I couldn't bare to see them stay. I felt useless, I couldn't do anything about it. I remember Gavin and I turned to them before we departed. Father and Mother gave encouraging smiles at us, "We've had a good life," Mother said, "It's up to you two now. We know you'll both do us proud."

"You're Couslands, after all." Father added, "We love you both dearly, do us proud. Warn Fergus and tell him what has happened. Now go, make your marks on the world. It's up to you two." I ran to both of them and gave them one last hug. Gavin quickly followed. This was to be our last family embrace. "We love you both so much." Gavin and I said.

We heard them break through the gates, Duncan said we must go. We quickly exchanged our last goodbyes, and made our escape.

That was the last I had seen of them. My last memories.

* * *

_A/N: So there you go :) Oh, and for Ser Gilmore's name, on the dragon age wikia it said he was called Rory for short. So if you were wondering about that, that's why I had him called Rory. Short for Roland or Roderick or something :) Y'know, when I was playing through the human noble origin the first time, I thought Ser Gilmore would've been a romance option, (Like Iona or Dairren) Alas, he wasn't, so in my story he is! :D Anyway, read and review please! Next chapter should be up shortly. I'm going on vacation on the 21st this month, so I'm going to try to update this story as much as I can before I have to leave. _

_-Kat_


	3. The Travel to Ostagar

_A/N: Hey guys, thanks for all the feedback! Glad you like it so far! I think I forgot to ask in the last chapter that have you wondered why Ser Gilmore couldn't have been a romance option like Dairren or Iona? Honestly, when I started playing, I thought he'd be an option, like a secret relationship thing if you were a female warden. buuuut no. He wasn't. So I couldn't resist in the last chapter :D. I always thought the warden would've had a thing for Ser Gilmore. So, I decided to switch up POV's :) That is all._

_Edit: Finally got to go back and "revamp" chapters a bit._

* * *

_GavinPOV_

**Chapter 3. The Travel to Ostagar**

Now, where did I put that sword of mine?...

I looked around our little camp. Should be here somewhere.

It's morning now, and it's been almost a week since we escaped from our home. Funny. It just sounds funny to say you _escaped _from your _home_. Your home should be the last place you'd escape from, yes? You are suppose to feel safe in your home. We felt the very opposite that night. I remember it all pretty clearly. I still can't believe it, I can't believe all that has happened. I still mourn about Father.. Mother.. Oriana.. Oren.. Iona.. Everyone. All of my friends. I mourn for all of them, quietly, though. I'm trying to be strong, mainly for Keira's sake. That doesn't mean I'm not torn up about everything. She hasn't taken it well since we left. I swear, on some nights I could hear her quietly sobbing to herself. Other nights, she's silent. I've tried to talk with her now and then, but she hasn't said a word. Not that I could blame her, though.

Aside from mourning, I noticed that various scenarios came into my head. It all was based around the same thing: How to get vengeance. I swear, mark my words: I _will_ kill that son of a bitch, Howe. He's going to pay for everything that we lost, everyone that we lost, and for whatever pain he could have caused to others. Though Father said I need to focus on our duties as Grey Wardens first, I swear I will still get revenge. Keira _and_ I will get revenge. We have to, for everyone. For the Couslands.

"Gavin?"

"Hmm?" I looked over to find Duncan holding up my sword. For some reason, I'm not too surprised he'd be the one to find it. I walked over to him as he handed the sword over to me. It was the sword Father gave me when we left that night. Ever since then, I've been using his sword and shield. Keira has been wielding Father's dagger and the family sword since then as well. It was all we had right now to remember our family by. We still had the Highever shield in our possession as well, thank the Maker we recovered these things before Howe got to them. They belonged in the hands of a Cousland.

As I got my sword from Duncan and slid it back into its sheath. I gave him a half-hearted smile, "Thanks, I was looking for that."

Duncan pointed over toward Carlin, "It seems your hound had it over by him. I suppose he could have taken it."

I scanned across the area to find Carlin. He was sitting over by Keira, his head resting in her lap. "He can probably still smell Father's scent. It was his sword." I said, "Oh, but he's not my hound. He is Keira's."

"Oh, I see." Duncan mumbled.

There was a couple seconds of silence before Duncan spoke again, "Gavin, how are you feeling?"

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, "I'm fine, Duncan. Nothing to worry about." I'm still upset, don't get me wrong, but I don't want him to be concerned. I tried reassuring him, "Still taking it all in, but I'm fine. It's Keira I'm worried about."

We both glanced over to Keira. She was sitting on the ground at the edge of our little camp, facing away from the us. She had her eyes directed toward the small river we had rested near by. She just seemed... Blank. Carlin was there trying to comfort her, but I'm not sure how well that's working. I sighed again and plopped down on a nearby rock. I rubbed my eyes and looked back up at Duncan, "She hasn't said a word to me since that night."

"She hasn't said anything to me, either. I do not wish to bother her." Duncan replied, "But she will more than likely respond to you first. You are her brother, after all."

I mumbled, "Yes, I know this."

His voice was stern, yet he spoke with concern in his voice, "She needs your support right now. You need each other."

I nodded. "But what exactly am I suppose to do? I've tried to talk to her."

"Just comfort her, Gavin." I almost find it hard to believe Duncan is giving me all this advice. He said, "You need to relate to her. You both have lost something very dear, but only you two know exactly how that feels."

I just nodded in reply, looking down at the ground avoiding eye contact. He continued, "I hope you and Keira haven't forgotten what your parents have told you, and I'm sure they've told you countless times before."

I raised a brow and looked up at Duncan, "And what would that be?" I asked.

"You are Couslands," as he began to say this, I can hear the sound of Father's voice repeating this as well, "And a Cousland always fulfills their duty and their task ahead of them."

I nodded my head once again, remembering the countless times Father or Mother have mentioned this. My parents might've been a bit ridiculous at times, but they were great. While raising us, they've taught us different morals and lessons. Two of the most important ones being the importance of responsibility and duty. I can almost hear Father in the back of my head telling me this. There are times he would always say I should always fulfill my duty, or whatever the task that's been given to me. He said this whether it had to do with chores, schooling with my teacher Aldous, or even something simple and straight forward as doing what Mother always told. It's only right that I see this all through, that Keira _and_ I both see this through. We can't let them down, it wouldn't be right.

I gave a smirk to Duncan, "I'll be sure Keira remembers this."

Surprisingly, a smile tugged from the corner of Duncan's mouth. He looked down and patted my shoulder, "Good. It's best that both of you are focused on the task ahead. It will help you both during the Joining."

I stood up and rolled my eyes, "Alright, if you say so."

Ducan mentioned this Joining thing a couple days ago as well, when I asked him about Grey Wardens. I don't know why it's that important we have a clear head before we reach Ostagar. I wondered what he meant by that. What is this Joining he spoke of? It was obviously very secretive. I tried asking him, but he wouldn't tell me. I can't help but be curious about the whole deal, but I guess I'll find out what it is soon enough.

"We need to start going pretty soon," Duncan said, "We'll arrive at Ostagar later this afternoon."

I simply nodded again in reply and started to pack up my things. I didn't have much, just a mat to sleep on. Plus my backpack I brought with me as we escaped the castle... That night just keeps popping up in my head. I knew we wouldn't have won that battle, not with all of our troops gone. At least bringing the pack would allow me to carry some things as we escaped, such as the family heirlooms that Mother wanted us to retrieve. I still almost can't believe it, we had to _escape_. There was nothing we could do. All I can do now is vent my anger toward Rendon Howe. Damn that Howe. He's going to pay. It's almost unreal, like it was just a bad nightmare. Perhaps I could just pinch myself, then wake up in my room, at the castle. Keira and I would go about the day as we had to assume the duty of running the castle.

Then again, perhaps I have to conquer this nightmare, before I could ever hope to wake up.

We picked up whatever we had in our little camp and set off. Duncan led the way while Keira, Carlin, and myself followed. The hours just seemed to drag on. It seemed like we've spent forever walking, but in reality, it's only been a couple hours at most. The rest of the day seemed to be going on like this. I've tried to talk to Keira on the way, but I've had no luck so far. After a few more hours passed and with no luck getting Keira's attention, I decided to talk with Duncan some more. He said we should be close to Ostagar soon enough. This means I need to get Keira talking soon. Time is ticking down.

I quickly rushed back to Keira, beginning to make my dangerous attempt to get her talking.

"Keira? Keira? Keira Cousland? You there?"

I hate it when my sister zones out like this. She's always notorious for doing so. She tends to just drift off in her own thoughts. I think she's learned to tune out nearly everything when she does this, or maybe she just tunes_ me _out. Though I know what's on her mind, as I have been thinking of the same thing since we've escaped. Perhaps I shouldn't hold this time against her, it would be awfully cruel if I did. I don't why, but I seem to forget sometimes that we have different ways of dealing with things. Being twins, or siblings, does not mean we would handle a thing like this the same way. I'm a fool to think that.

Remember, Gavin, stay strong.

"Keira?"

No answer still. A good poke to the shoulder should do it. I need to get her attention.

As I lifted my hand I heard a monotone voice, "Don't touch me."

That's the first I've heard her talk since that night. So she _did _hear me. No matter the circumstances, I have an ominous feeling that she's _always_ tuned me out. I heard Carlin growl at me for irritating her, but I dismissed it.

"Sorry sis, just wanting to check up on you and all." I tried giving her a cheerful smile, but it slowly went away when she glared at me. I hate that glare. Gives me chills. It reminds me when... Mother gives us the glare. It seems as though every couple of minutes something comes up that causes me to think back to that night.

"You know," I started, "Duncan said we're almost at Ostagar." We were almost there, we can see the fortress in the distance as we were walking. It's huge, if you ask me, that is.

"So?"

So? Was that all she could say? "Sooo, that means we get to meet our soon-to-be fellow Grey Wardens?" I tried to make it seem positive. I'm probably awful at faking this positivity stuff, but I'm trying to think things through as logically as can be. If I stay positive, then only positive things will come. I can only move forward. Revenge is my motivation for keeping me moving forward. Keira's been acting for her emotions lately because of all that's happened. I hate to say this, but she's usually, if not always, driven by her emotions. Even if that means acting in extremes. I absolutely hate to see her like this. I have to snap her out of it before we reach Ostagar.

"Well, I guess so." She shrugged.

I sighed to myself, "Well hey, we get to see Fergus when we're up there."

"Do you want to be the one to tell him what happened? I certainly don't."

Just then I remembered Fergus' room. Maker, why do I keep thinking back to everything? Oriana. Oren. We couldn't even help them. There was nothing we could do. I still knew whatever we did, we couldn't get them back. The only thing we could do is get back at the man that caused all of this. I sighed to myself. I have to snap Keira out of this. I looked ahead and noticed Duncan too far off to hear us if we just whispered.

I became serious. I started in a low whisper, "Look. I know you're upset. I am too. We just lost our home. You, Fergus, and I are the only Couslands left." With this she finally turned her head to me. **Finally**. "Don't you remember what Father said to us?" I asked, "Ever since we were little, he said that Couslands always do their duty. Our duty now is with the Grey Wardens." Father's words echoed through my mind, "Don't you remember this?"

She nodded. "Yes.. I do remember, Gavin" she mumbled, "But I remember everything quite vividly." She started blinking back tears and turned her head away, "I know what he's said but-"

"But nothing," I interrupted, "You and I both said we would fulfill our duty. For Father and Mother. For everyone that lost their lives that night, but especially for them."

"I know that. Just give me some time, please. I know what they said, but.." She paused. She slowly turned to me, her eyes watering, "I'm just having trouble processing it all." I know what she meant. I just knew how to cover it up better.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders as we walked, "I know, sis," I whispered, "I know." The rest of the walk was silent.

I don't know what could be said to lighten the mood. Perhaps nothing could. We lost our home. Our friends. Our family. Everything. Yet, there was nothing we could do about it in the aftermath. We were horribly limited. I doubt there was much we could do beforehand. At our most vulnerable state, our trusted family friend betrayed us. Who could have predicted that? It's almost as if it was inevitable. If it was fate, then I could not even fathom what importance that night could have had. We're off to become Grey Wardens and possibly die at the upcoming battle in Ostagar. Fate is beyond me. We just need something that could get our minds off of this. A little distraction could help us right about now.

"Gavin, Keira," Duncan turned back at us, "We've reached Ostagar."

We both looked at the mighty fortress in front of us. I was suddenly in complete awe. I could tell Keira was too. Perhaps this was the distraction we were looking for. Even if it doesn't take our minds off of things for long, it would still be helpful. Maker knows it won't heal us completely, not even a fraction. It was a start, though. I heard a happy bark escape from Carlin's mouth, so my guess is that he liked the looks of the place too. Making our way through the gates, I could see a man in golden armor walking towards us.

I squinted my eyes a bit to try and recognize his face...

Was that the King?

* * *

_A/N: Whoa! Cliffhanger!... Not really, if you've played the game that is. Anyway, to me this chapter wasn't really exciting, at all, but the next one will be better! Feel free to point out any typos, or anything of that sort :)_

_-Kat_


	4. A Royal Welcome and Meeting Alistair

_A/N: Hey guys, thanks for everything so far! I really appreciate all of your reviews, feedback, alerts, favorites and so on. And I've been trying to reply to everyone who's reviewed, to give my thanks and answer some questions and what not. But I'm sorry I can't reply to the anonymous reviews, if I could I definitely would! I appreciate everything so far, you guys are the best! Which is yet another reason why I reply all your wonderful reviews :D All of you reviewers, favoriters, and lurkers, are the best! I appreciate everything!_

_So this chapter I'm finally going to use both of their POVs! We'll see how that goes! Give me your feedback :)_

_Some of the dialogue might be not from the game, actually, it might not sound even close to what's in the game. I'm trying, though. My Xbox 360 broke yet again (Red ring of death!) and I can't play through this part to have a good idea of what the characters would say D: so bear with me!_

_I've babbled enough for now, so enjoy! :D_

* * *

**Chapter 4. A Royal Welcome and Meeting Alistair**

_GavinPOV_

Yeah. I was right. It was the King. I'm thinking the shiny golden armor made it a dead giveaway.

We had barely made it through the gates of the stone fortress when we were approached by King Cailan and a group of men. After taking a moment to study the King, I noticed that he beared a striking resemblance to the late King Maric.

King Maric had long golden, blonde hair. Does Cailan? Check.

High cheekbones? Check.

King Maric's compelling eyes? Check.

That signature, Theirin nose? Of course, check.

From all of the evidence before me, I'd say he was a spitting image of his Father.

As he approached us, he came with a welcoming smile on his face. It seems almost familiar... I think I recall meeting King Cailan once, but perhaps that was back when we were just little kids. I can't say I remember much about him though. If I remember correctly, he played with Keira, Fergus, and I in the courtyard during a meeting our parents had. I broke out of my nostalgic thoughts as I heard Duncan speak.

"Your Majesty," Duncan started, "I wasn't expecting a..."

"A royal welcome? Really I was beginning to think you'd miss all the fun," The King said in a cheerful tone.

"Not if I can help it, your Majesty."

King Cailan had turned his attention to Keira and I, "So I hear you have found promising recruits? This is they?"

Duncan cleared his throat, "Yes, your Majesty." He motioned his hand toward us, "Allow me to introduce you to-"

And of course, just as I had predicted, Cailan cut off Duncan yet again. "No need Duncan," he smirked, "I recognize these two. This is Keira and Gavin, Bryce's youngest and the 'Cousland Twins' are they not? I believe we might've met before, or am I mistaken?"

Keira spoke up before I had the chance. She cleared her throat and put on her best noblewoman act, "Yes, I believe we've met some time ago during your family's visit," So I was right! I knew we met him when we were kids. She smiled, "I don't think we've been formerly introduced, though." I know that smile. I can tell you one thing, it's Keira's 'forced smile'. I can recognize it anywhere.

"Ah yes," Cailan said, recalling his thoughts, "I do believe we have met sometime ago." He chuckled to himself and continued on. "You should know that your older brother has arrived with his men. However, we are still awaiting your father."

Keira's smile quietly faded and her face became pale. Her expression was blank again.

I looked at Cailan's face, only to see it was full of confusion. Had he not received the news yet?

I gently placed a hand on Keira's shoulder and looked over at my sister, "Keira, you alright?"

No answer.

Cailan slowly approached Keira, concerned. He slowly placed his hand on her other shoulder and looked down at her, "My lady, is something wrong?"

I sighed and faced him, "Yes, your majesty, you see-"

"You haven't heard, have you?" Keira spoke in a very grim tone as she looked up at Cailan.

Cailan raised a brow in confusion, "Unfortunately, receiving news from the north has been difficult lately. What has happened?"

I gulped and spoke hesitantly to the King, "Well, your majesty. Our father isn't coming. I'm afraid he perished when our castle was taken." I could hear Carlin softly whine behind me. Keira did nothing but stare silently at the ground.

Cailan blinked a few times. A couple seconds of silence passed. I don't think he quite realized what I had just said, "He's perished?" he took a few steps back and looked down at the ground before him, "Duncan, what's all this about?"

Duncan sighed, "Both the Teryn and his wife are dead, your Majesty. Arl Howe has shown himself a traitor and betrayed Teryn Cousland."

I watched as Cailan's face quickly turned from confusion, to shock, then finally to disgust and fury. "Wh-what?" He questioned in disbelief, "I can hardly believe this! He will not get away with such treachery!" He turned to face Keira and I, and he gently lifted Keira's chin to direct her attention away from the ground. He looked in her eyes, speaking completely genuine, "I want you and Gavin to know," he said, exchanging glances between us as he addressed us, "That after all this is over, Arl Howe will be brought to justice. I give you my word."

I looked over to Keira and noticed she seemed a bit more relaxed, as did I. I feel more at ease right now, knowing that Howe will be brought to justice. Also, especially seeing that Keira feels more at ease. No matter what happens, I still must get vengeance toward Howe, and this is will have to do for now. "Thank you, your Majesty" we both whispered, as King Cailan took a couple steps back to face all three of us.

The fury in his voice had subsided, and he began speaking in his normal tone, "No doubt you wish to see your brother, Fergus," he said, "However, he and his men are scouting in the wilds."

Keira looked up at the King, speaking slowly, "I am not eager to tell him, your Majesty."

"Neither am I." I added.

King Cailan continued to speak, "I have no doubt of that. Both of you will be able to see him once the battle is over, the only thing you can do until then is vent your anger toward the darkspawn."

We both nodded, and replied "Thank you, your Majesty."

"We really appreciate it," I said. In reality, I'd rather just go to find Fergus right now and save my venting for later. However, one must be polite to noblemen, right? Especially if it's the King...

The King turned to address Duncan before he departed, "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I have business to attend to with Loghain."

Duncan quietly nodded and cleared his throat, "I understand, your Majesty. However, your uncle sends his greetings and wanted to remind you that his Redcliffe forces could be here in less than a week."

Cailan snorted, "Ha!" He continued and spoke with confidence in his voice, "Eamon just wants in on the glory. We've won three battles against these beasts and this one should be no different."

I looked over at Duncan, trying to read his reaction to Cailan's comments. "I didn't realize things were going so well."

Cailan gave a wide grin, "I doubt this is even a true Blight, " He shrugged his shoulders, "True, there are plenty of monsters on the battlefield, however we see no sigh of an archdemon."

Duncan raised an eyebrow at Cailan's statement, "Disappointed, your Majesty?"

Cailan began to pace with excitement, his voice full of marvel and wonder, "I had hoped for a war like in the tales! A king riding into battle with the Grey Wardens, fighting against a tainted old god!" He slowly came to a halt, and he let out a wistful sigh, "Alas, I suppose this will have to do." He turned to us and gave us an apologetic smile, "If you excuse me I best go meet with Loghain before he sends out a search party," he lifted his hand to give a simple wave, "Farewell, for now." Keira and I bowed our heads with respect, while Duncan gave a simple bend at the waist. With that, he turned around and continued walking down the stone bridge, signaling his men to follow back.

Duncan looked over at us and gave a quiet smile, then motioned his hand down the walkway. Keira and I, along with Carlin following loyally behind us, were led by Duncan across the bridge.

"So Duncan," I began, "Do you really think this isn't a Blight?"

He sighed, "Unfortunately Gavin, I do sense the archdemon's presence. However, I cannot ask the King to act solely on my feelings."

A quizzical look struck upon Keira's face, "But why not? He seems to regard the Grey Wardens highly."

Duncan started to explain to us how King Cailan doesn't want to wait for the reinforcements and the other Grey Wardens from Orlais. Cailan is so fascinated with with the Wardens, he believes in the legend so much he thinks it makes him untouchable. There aren't enough Wardens in Ferelden, so now I understand why Duncan had been out looking for recruits. I especially understand why he was so pleased when he acquired not one, but _two_ recruits on his visit. Grey Wardens are highly needed, and now I understand why. After his explaination, he proceeded to talk of the Joining.

"It's best that we proceed with the Joining ritual as soon as preparations are made."

I rolled my eyes, "Again with this Joining ritual," I muttered.

Keira looked at us with confusion, "What now?"

"I told Gavin of the Joining during our travels here. It's something you both will go through in order to become Grey Wardens."

"But what is the-"

I sighed, "Don't bother. He can't tell us yet. Top secret."

Keira rolled her eyes, speaking in a flat tone, "Oh, alright then."

We stopped at the arch by the end of the bridge, Ducan began to speak again, "You both can take some time to rest, I know you are tired from the journey. When you are ready, seek out Alistair and the other recruits at camp. Your hound, Carlin, can stay with me while I attend to other business." Carlin let out a bark of approval at this, and after receiving a desired scratch on the head from Duncan, Carlin happily barked and followed behind Duncan. Keira and I took in our surroundings and started to wander through camp. The fortress was huge, no doubt. Some of the stone walls have started to crumble, while other parts have already fallen apart. Overall, the fortress is still standing high and strong. However, parts of the fortress seem to look more like ruins, with parts of nature infesting the pillars and walls. We entered through the arch to the right, after taking direction from one of the guards. We looked around at all the brilliant colored tents, the soldiers, the ranging areas, and so on. I was engulfed into everything, wanting to talk to everyone and everything. Of all the wondrous things we saw, I only asked myself, "Where to start?"

As we entered we passed by some templars, guarding mages of course. I myself was tempted to go over there and talk to them, but their mere presence frightened Keira and I. "They look rather menacing, don't you think?" Keira whispered.

Was it really because of the big, baleful armor they were wearing that frightened us? We stopped and turned our head back to the templars. One quickly locked eyes with mine and the other with Keira's. We squealed and ran off.

Yup. It was the armor. I'm sure of it.

As we were running from the templars, I looked back for a split second toward to templars. We were a good distance away. Relieved, I sighed to myself and something suddenly stopped me in my path. Well, it was more like tripped over some object. Actually, there might not have been an object on the ground in the first place. For Maker's sake, I probably tripped over my own feet. Whatever the case, I tripped and fell flat on my face.

Ouch.

I could hear Keira's voice above me, "Gavin! Are you alright?"

I heard another voice mixed in there too, "Are you alright?"

I groaned and sat up from the ground. Feeling a tingling sensation from my nose, I lightly brushed my finger against my nostrils only to find a couple drops of blood fall. Fantastic.

"Gavin!" Keira wrapped her arms around one of my arms, helping up to my feet. As I stood up, I noticed an older woman come about too, and started to examine my face for any injuries. "Are you alright, lad?"

"Are you okay?" Keira asked with concern, who was also looking upon my face.

I waved my hand dismissively, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

"You're bleeding."

I shook my head, "It's just a nose bleed! Nothing to fret about." The older woman approached me and gave a warm smile, "Here, I can help with that."

I looked to the older woman in confusion, "Who's this?"

She took a step back and smiled at us, "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Wynne, one of the mages summoned by the King." She took a couple seconds and studied us, "I assume you two are the new recruits Duncan brought, correct?"

We nodded back and introduced ourselves, "I'm Gavin, and this is Keira." Keira gave a friendly smile back to the aged woman, "Pleased to meet you," We both said.

"I noticed you had taken a fall, young man," She chuckled, "I thought I'd come over here to be sure you didn't injure yourself. You need to feel your best for the battle ahead."

After trying to reassure to her _and_ Keira I didn't need help, they both overpowered me. I sighed and let Wynne take care to my nose. She pulled out a cloth, covering my nose to help the bleeding stop. While she did this, I noticed she used her other hand to cast magic. Healing magic, I suspect. As she began to heal my nose, all three of us got to talking. She was a really nice old woman, she also seemed like a great mage too. She began talking to us of the Fade, talking of how the Chantry explains it. We discussed other things, such as the battle ahead. She wished us luck on the battlefield, as we did to her. Keira had also asked her a couple questions herself, about this Alistair fellow we were suppose to find him; She asked where he was, and what he looked like. I say we could've easily found him either way without the information, but she thought otherwise. Wynne gladly gave us the information we needed to find him. It wasn't before long she was done healing my nose, stopping the bleeding in the process.

"There," she said, taking a couple steps back, "The bleeding would've stopped on its own within a couple hours, though I thought it would've been best if we fixed the matter right away."

I brought a hand up to my nose, noticing the bleeding had completely stopped. My nose felt perfectly fine now! No tingling feeling, no bleeding, everything was fine and dandy.

I smiled at Wynne, "Thank you! It feels like nothing happened to it!"

She gave a welcoming smile back, "Your very welcome, Gavin." She chuckled softly to herself, "Try to be a bit more careful next time."

Keira smirked impishly and lightly elbowed my arm, "Yeah, twinkle toes, watch where you're running next time."

I smiled sheepishly and shrugged my shoulders, "Can't make any promises, but I'll try."

"Now," Wynne started, "You two best be off, since you have to find your other recruits." We nodded and said our goodbyes to Wynne for now. Hopefully we'll see her again after the battle. She's a kindhearted lady, almost reminds me of my grandmother actually.

Keira and I looked around the camp for a little bit. Duncan said we could have some time to rest and look around, so I think we should take advantage of this time. I thought it would be best if Keira and I split up for now. I could wander off in peace, while Keira can look around where she wants too. After some convincing, Keira finally agreed and we both parted our ways for the time being.

It's time to do some real exploring now.

...

_KeiraPOV_

I watched Gavin prance off. He acted like a kid again! He has his familiar gigantic smile on his face. He's frollicking from soldier to soldier, introducing himself, asking questions, being buddy-buddy with everyone. I kind of wandered around at first, not knowing where to go. I'd rather just go look for Fergus, but they said he's off scouting and can't be reached. I know Gavin said we should use this time to relax and look around, like Duncan had said, but there wasn't much I wanted to do.

With that being said, I decided to go ahead and search for this Alistair fellow. I wondered what he'd be like. What if he was snobby? What if he was mean or frightening? How old is he? As young as me or as old as Duncan? He could be anything.I recall Wynne never told me his age. She told me his basic description: Blondish brown hair, tall, most likely wearing Splintmail armor, and he had a "unusual sense of humor," whatever that means. However, I had no idea what else he was like. My mind was racing about what else he might be like, but I quickly shook my head to try to get these thoughts out. Best not judge someone before I even met them. Father always use to say that. It was one of those life lessons my parents had always tried to instill in us.

I followed the directions Wynne gave me. I passed by a couple more tents, a dog kennel filled with war hounds, and even an armorer. I walked up a ramp, past the armor fellow, leading to another area in the camp. To my left, there was a long table, nobody was around it though. I assume it was used for meetings and such. To my right, I found a man in robes talking to a man in Splintmail. They were in a heated argument about something. I approached them slowly, but decided to hang back a bit until their discussion ended.

I stood there and waited for the argument to settle down. I took advantage of this moment to study the Grey Warden. One of the men fits Wynne's description much better than the other man, so I had to assume he was Alistair. Firstly, by his looks and actions, I'd suspect him to be no older than 23 or 24. Younger than I expected. Secondly, I couldn't deny the fact that he was good looking. No doubt at all. Actually, I wouldn't say he was just good looking, but pardon me, he was absolutely _gorgeous_. I discreetly studied the man from head to toe, hoping the two wouldn't notice. He appeared to have a muscular frame sitting underneath that Splintmail. And his face! Maker, his face! His features were chiseled down to the last detail of perfection. His eyes were the color of a vibrant amber, gleaming with mischief. His hair was a creamy, soft golden blondish-brown. It was kept nice and tidy, with a little bit sticking up in the front.

The weird thing is, I almost feel as though I've seen that face somewhere. I have this feeling in my gut, I know I have seen that face before. It's as if someone smacked me upside the head, it's so obvious I've seen that face! But I just don't know where...

After realizing I had been gawking at him this whole time, I quickly shook the thoughts out of my head and listened to the end of their conversation.

I listened to the younger man, who I suspected to be Alistair, speak. Compared to the other man, he was maintaining a reasonable tone to the older fellow. The other man, however, couldn't keep a calm voice for one second! He was either yelling, groaning, or stomping his feet all over the place. It made me chuckle to myself, he looked quite ridiculous! No matter what the other man did, Alistair continued to speak in a friendly tone, "And I was even going to name one of my children after you," though his voice quickly turned into sarcasm, "The _grumpy_ one."

I tried to stifle a laugh from the sidelines, not wanting to draw attention, or even worse, involve myself in the situation.

They quickly turned their heads at me. So much for trying to hide my laugh.

The older man pointed at me with disgust in his eyes, "You! What's so funny over there?"

And so much for not involving myself.

I took a few steps back, "I.. Umm.."

The man rolled his eyes and snarled with revolt, "Get out of my way!"

As he stomped past me, he pushed me over as he came by. Not expecting this, I lost my balance and fell back on the ground. I sat up, agitated by the man, "Hey! What in Maker's sodding name was that for?" I yelled, even though by now I knew he was out of earshot.

The younger man ran over to my side quickly, extending his hand out to me, "I'm sorry about that, my dear lady. Some people just don't know how to keep calm around here." He said with a wink and muttered, "One good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together." I could feel a small smile tug at my lips, and I graciously took his hand as he helped me to my feet. "I know what you mean."

His chuckled boomed throughout the ruins surrounding us, "It's like party! We could all hold hands and stand in a circle." He gestured his arms, further illustrating his comment, "That would give the darkspawn something to think about." I couldn't help but laugh at his comment. He was quite the character, I could already tell.

His smile faded to be replaced by a curious expression, "So what brings you here?" He asked cautiously, "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

I smiled, "Not that I'm aware of. Duncan told me to find a Grey Warden named Alistair."

"Oh, what does he want me to do now?" He groaned. I raised a brow, confused for a moment. After a couple seconds, a look of realization came upon his face. "Wait a minute," he exclaimed, "Are you one of the new recruits Duncan brought back?" I nodded in reply. He studied me carefully, stroking his chin. "Oh, what was that name... Kristina? Kendra?"

I laughed, "It's Keira." I extended my hand out to him.

He smiled back and firmly shook my hand, "Ah right! That was the name. Anyway, I'm Alistair, the new Grey Warden."

I grinned back cheerfully, "Well it's nice meet you."

He grinned and brought his hand down, "And you too. You know, I was told two names..." He peered over my shoulder, half expecting to find someone else with me.

I nodded, "Yup. My twin is the other one."

His eyes sparked with amusement. He smirked, "Oh really now?" He glanced over my shoulder and scanned our surroundings, "Am I about to see a double in a minute or so?"

I slowly raised an eyebrow at him, acting offended. After a few moments of not responding, his smirk had faded away.

He quickly held his hands up in defense and started shaking his head, "I assure you, I am not some drooling lecher." He said hastily, "Please, I only jest. It's what I do."

I laughed. So Wynne was right about his sense of humor. Interesting. "Good to know. I have a feeling you'll get along with my brother."

"Ohhh," he said, drawing out the word, "Twin brother! I apologize!" He said, slapping a hand to his forehead, "How could I have been so foolish?" I couldn't help but only respond with a giggle once again. On top of that, I'm getting a tingling sensation in my stomach. Where in Maker's name did that come from?

I managed to reply between the giggles, "Yup. Twin brother."

"Hm, and when will I be meeting this brother of yours? I suspect I have his name wrong too."

"Um, why do you suspect that?"

"Oh I don't know," He said to the scenery, "Besides the fact I couldn't remember yours, I thought the other name was Ginger," he mumbled quickly, "Then after I found out your twin is a _boy..."_

I laughed again. For some reason I can't help but laugh at nearly everything he says. If I wasn't laughing, I was smiling back. It's almost as if Alistair's personality is just, well, contagious. I laugh at his jokes and I'm always grinning back. Maker knows I can't help it.

I smirked at Alistair, "Well, you're close. His name is Gavin." After saying this, I just remembered what Duncan had told me. _Seek Alistair and the other recruits_. Right. "Actually, should we go find the other recruits now?"

He chuckled, "Yes, I suppose we should go do so." The corner of his mouth curled into a friendly grin, motioning his other hand in the direction toward camp, "Shall we?"

I smiled and nodded, "You lead the way."

Throwing a welcoming arm around my shoulders, his grin grew from ear to ear. He led us back toward camp, talking of Grey Warden things, answering the questions I asked, and otherwise entertaining me with other various topics. One of which was cheese. He seemed to really like cheese...

This man was strange, no doubt about that. And yet, I've enjoyed every minute of his company so far.

* * *

_A/N: So there's Chapter 4! Hope you liked it! So yeah, I doubt they did handshakes back then, but hey, what can you do? It's my story :D And so after this I'm going to try to squeeze in the next chapter before Tuesday, it'll be up Tuesday night at the latest. I'm leaving Wednesday morning, the 21st. Then hopefully, *crosses fingers* If I can work on writing while on vacation, I might have the next chapter done and up before I get back. Basically, since during my vacation I will be staying with relatives, I'll most likely have access to their computer. My cousin and I are most likely going to stay up late and use the computer, soooo I might get to update during that time. Can't promise anything though, but for you guys, I'll try my hardest! :)_

_-Kat_


	5. Gavin's Mini Adventure

_AN: Hey again! So thanks everyone again for any of the feedback and everything! Knowing that people are actually reading this and enjoying the story keeps me going :) You guys are the best! I appreciate the favorites, alerts, reviews, lurkers, etc. :D And sorry I technically missed my "Update by Tuesday night!" thing, since technically here where I live it's Wednesday now, haha. Close enough? I got caught up with packing and stuff, oh I always pack last minute! I really can't help it haha. Hope you guys enjoy! Read and review pwease :)_

_And forgive some of the dialogue in this, I really don't remember most of it from the game. D: I'm still xbox-less._

_EDIT: So I'd like to give a shout out to **Rowan Cousland**, and she told me the name of the elf messenger from Ostagar. Since I didn't have my xbox, I couldn't remember the name and made it Robert, then asked on here if anyone knew his name. So thanks again! I made the change and now have the name as Pick, and not Robert :)_

* * *

**Chapter 5. Gavin's Mini Adventure**

_Gavin POV_

I gave Keira a big smile as I ran off in the other direction. Since we're going our separate ways for now, I'm going off to do some exploring. Besides, since we're separated we can do what we please for the time being. We agreed to meet up later and find one another after one of us has found Alistair.

However, I won't be ready to go looking for Alistair anytime soon. I'm going to guess she'll do so first.

I surveyed my surrounds, stroking my chin while deciding where to go. I saw a couple of soldiers talking nearby. _Why not? _I thought as I quickly went over and began talking with them. Thank the Maker, they gladly included me in their conversation. I stuck out my hand, introducing myself. They gave a firm shake back, giving their names as well. They weren't any Grey Wardens, just ordinary soldiers. While having a quick chat with them, I asked for suggestions on what I should check out at camp first. They pondered for a bit, and one finally broke the silence, suggesting that if I'm a new recruit from Duncan and a Cousland, I should go over to Teryn Loghain's tent and ask for an audience. The other shook his head, saying that if I hadn't seen darkspawn before I should head up to the upper level of the fortress, because a soldier has a display and is giving a lecture on darkspawn. To my luck, before I even had a chance to respond to the two, they started to bicker about which idea was better.

Fantastic.

As I tried to intervene with the two, they ignored me. I'm really starting to think the Maker himself tells people to tune me out, just for his own enjoyment. About a minute passed and the two were still arguing. Before making my leave, I quickly shot up an angry glare at the heavens. The Maker's laughing right now. I swear it. I awkwardly said my goodbyes, even though they didn't hear me, and I quickly slipped out of that situation. I thought about their suggestions, and decided to ask someone else to see what was better.

In the corner of my eye, I saw a someone pacing toward the other side of camp. He didn't look like a soldier. He ran with great speed, and I honestly didn't know what he was doing. I squinted my eyes a bit and noticed something. Pointed ears. _An elf messenger perhaps?_, I thought. Feeling a bit bold, I quickly caught up to the man and started to run beside him. He glanced over for a second, but quickly looked away. He did this a couple other times before coming to a sudden halt. He slowly raised a brow, giving a hesitant look, "Pardon, but why are you following me?"

This only question only made me grin. I stuck my hand out, "I'm Gavin. How do you do, good sir?"

He looked down at my hand, then quickly back to me. He cautiously shook my hand, saying "I-I'm Pick, sir. Do you need to send a message?"

"Nice to meet you Pick. I don't need a message, just wanted to talk is all."

He looked at me in disbelief, "Really? I never get that."

I chuckled, "Say, mind if I ask you a quick question?"

"A-and that would be?"

I looked down at him, trying to give him a friendly grin, "No need to be timid, Pick," I wrapped my arm around his shoulder to direct his attention toward the upper level and Teryn Loghain's tent, "Just a between us men, do you think I should go there," I said, pointing to the ramp leading to the other level, then to the tent, "Or there first?"

He thought for a bit before giving his answer. He then spoke quietly, tripping over his own tongue, "Um, I would think.. Or suggest. G-going to the r-romp. I mean, ramp. First. Someone, a soldier, is doing a presentation on darkspawn.. Th- I think."

I nodded and smiled, "Thanks Pick, sounds great." I gave him a pat on the back before I walked away, "Don't be a stranger!" His mouth twitced into a small smile. We both gave a quick wave, and we went off in different directions. He went off to deliver messages, and I apparantly went off to go look at some darkspawn.

Moving on to activity number one: Gawking at a dead darkspawn.

I walked up to the upper part of the Fortress, and to my right I saw a crowd of soldiers gathered around something. To get a better look at the object before them, I started to gently push my way through the small crowd. Before long, I was at the front of the group. I looked down before me to see a short, stubby creature. This was unlike any creature I had ever seen. Its skin was green and leathery, and quite frankly, it was just plain ugly. Black liquid had seeped from its mouth, and through a wound in its chest. Its features were hideous as well: Sharp, yet large teeth. Oversized ears. Scrunched up face. Wrinkled face. I slightly cringed as I stared at the creature. If I was slightly disturbed by it now, how would I react to a live one?

I listened to the head soldier as he gave a lecture about the darkspawn. He explained that this was only one type of darkspawn we will encounter. _There's more? Fantastic,_ I thought to myself. He went on to saying that despite any tale, they were still killable. Stick them with your sword and they'll go down like anything else. This made me feel a bit relieved. The soldier also added, "Be weary of their blood. It's like a poison. It _can_ kill you." And then my feeling of relief slowly vanished.

After hearing the end of the lecture, I decided to look around a bit up here.

I walked around the upper area, and stopped for a bit to watch the archers practice by the ranging area. I continued to walk around and noticed that most of the area up here wasn't occupied. I made it toward the edge of the Fortress and leaned against a nearby pillar. The view was breath-taking from here. It made me a bit nervous, being up that high, but it was still amazing. I could see everything, rolling hills and forests on end. Everything looked at peace. I quietly smiled at this scene. I almost couldn't believe that darkspawn dwelled in those very forests, infesting their taint anywhere they touched.

After a few moments of viewing the area below Ostagar, I thought it was a good time to start my second activity.

Moving to activity number two: Bothering Teryn Loghain.

I made my way down the ramp toward the colorful tents. I noticed the King's tent was next to Loghain's. I was thinking of going over there too, but I didn't want to poke in when we just talked to him not long ago. And the fact that the guard won't let me in. I'll just have to settle for Teryn Loghain.

I waltzed over and had a chat with his guard. Unlike the King, the teryn was availabe for an audience. After some coercing with the guard, he let me speak with him. My silver tongue and I can talk anyone into anything. I was pretty thankful for this talent of mine. I smirked to myself as the guard went into the tent. However, this smirk started to fade as I realized how much trouble this so called "talent" of mine has gotten me into before. Why on earth was I asking for an audience again? Oh, that's right. The soldier suggested it. Recalling my thoughts, I realized he never gave me an actual topic to talk with the Teryn about.

_Maker's balls! What do I do? What do I do?_

In the middle of freaking out, the Loghain emerged from the tent, speaking in a hostile tone, "What is it, now?"

He quickly looked down only to find me. I was surprised how quickly his tone changed from harsh to friendly, "Oh, you're one of Bryce's youngest, correct? One of the twins? Gavin, if I can recall."

I gave a small bend at my waist to bow in respect, "Yes, my Lord, that's me. My sister is looking around the camp. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me."

"Well you both had definitely impressed Cailan. He was indeed fascinated by you two. Also, he informed me of his promise," he chuckled softly, "And I'm sure he will follow it through."

"My sister and I would be eternally grateful if he does, my Lord." I said, slightly bowing my head in appreciation.

Loghain crossed his arms, "So I also hear you and your sister are the newest recruits for the Grey Wardens, is that right?" I nodded in response. "Then I suppose you will be going into battle with your fellow Wardens?"

"Um, I suppose so, my Lord." Wasn't everyone going into battle anyway? Wardens, soldiers, mages, and all? Something about his tone of voice seemed suspicious, but I shook the matter aside.

He snorted, "Well my dear boy, if Cailan has his way, you will." He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, "Be sure you watch over that sister of yours, it's a shame she has to go through all of this."

I slowly raised an eyebrow at Loghain, confused by what he said. "My lord, I mean not to be rude, but she can handle herself just fine. She was trained for fighting, just as I was." I was starting to become suspicious of his words, yet again. I don't know where he's going with this.

He shifted his position a bit and shrugged, "I know Bryce had trained all of you, but aren't many female Wardens. I would hate to have your sister to live a life of fighting, which is what the Grey Wardens are bound to," he gave me a cold look, "If your sister goes through with this, there's no turning back."

That look made me shudder. "I understand, my Lord. She's a fighter though, nonetheless."

"Anyway, I must return to my task. Pray that our King guides us through with wisdom."

"... And if he doesn't?"

He sighed, "Then simply pray." With that, he turned around and ducked back into his tent.

I turned around and started to pace around camp yet again. Maybe I should start looking for Alistair after all. I headed to the area Wynne had told me to check for Alistair. On my way there, I noticed a dog kennel. After some observing, some of the mabaris appeared to be sick. I know I've had my trouble with Mabari hounds in the past, but I think it was worth checking out.

I think I just found an activity number three: Getting my finger bit off by war hounds.

I know Keira would call this exaggeration, but I just never got along with Mabaris. Actually, I had trouble getting along with any dog. They always loved Keira, but not me. Again, I think it's the Maker smiting me for his own twisted entertainment. Also I think I'm just more of a cat person. Yes. Cats are good.

I approached the Kennel Master, asking why certain hounds were being separated. Reluctantly, he explained how some hounds were infected by the taint. He asked me if I could put a muzzle on one, to help restrain it. Was he crazy? I never had luck with these animals! I looked over at the hound, and all of a sudden, a feeling of sadness overwhelmed me. She was dying. If this was one time to purposely risk losing my finger, why not? After agreeing to help the hound, the Kennel Master handed me the muzzle. I entered the pen she lying in and I slowly approached her. She looked up at me and whined. I kept whispering, "Shh, it's okay", and it apparantly worked. When she settled down, I put the muzzle on her. I gave her a warm smile and a scratch on the head before I exited the pen.

I am also proud to say I exited with all ten of my fingers.

The Kennel Master started talking with me once again, thanking me for helping out. I gladly told him I was happy to help. He asked me if I'm heading to the wilds soon, and I told him I probably will. He grinned at this, telling me of a flower that might help cure the infected Mabaris back to health. The flower he spoke of was white, with an orange center. If I do go into the Wilds soon, I definitely won't be leaving until I get this flower. He was surprised how the Mabari responded to me, and said after the battle maybe he'll be able to give me one. This made me happier than I thought. Me? A Mabari owner? A Mabari that _didn't _threaten my limbs? Yes, this indeed made me happy.

I said my goodbyes to the Kennel Master for now. I'm planning on returning later once I retrieve this flower for him. As I turned to my right, I saw a man and woman talking in the distance. I also heard an alarming amount of giggling. Keira's giggling, to be exact.

Moving on to my last activity number four: Ending my adventure. 'Tis very sad indeed.

I slowly walked over to them while they were in the middle of their conversation. The woman was in fact Keira, and I have to guess that the man is Alistair. I studied the man, and he seemed to be grabbing Keira's attention very successfullly. He seemed.. Nice. He was about our age, if not a couple years older. He appeared to be muscular, just as I suspect any Grey Warden would be. Some of his features seemed familiar..

Golden, dirty blonde hair? Check.

High Cheekbones? Check.

Compelling.. Eyes? Check.

Slanted nose? ...Check.

Maybe he's.. No, no, I think I'm just tired. I'm certainly not thinking straight. I waited for their conversation to end, I didn't want to interupt in the middle of it.

The man grinned broadly at Keira, "Well, my good lady, I'm not fond of waking early either," he said, watching carefully for her reaction. "Besides, the early bird may get the worm," He then suddenly brought his voice to a more quiet tone, "But, the second mouse gets the cheese."

... Did he just make a joke about cheese?

I quietly chuckled to myself, as I heard Keira laugh once again. Thinking this was a good time, I cleared my throat, getting both of their attention. Keira smiled at me, "Oh, there you are Gavin! We were just looking for you!" She turned to Alistair, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Gavin, this is Alistair, the Grey Warden that will be accompanying us." She then placed her other hand on my shoulder, "And Alistair, this is Gavin, my brother."

He smirked at me and held his hand out, "I've heard many things about you so far, Gavin."

I smiled back and shook his hand, muttering "Well, hopefully you heard good things." I shot a glance at Keira, turning my voice into sarcasm, "You never know what that one will tell you."

This comment gave me a punch in the arm.

Ouch.

I gently rubbed my arm, "Hey," I said, drawing out the word, "What was that for?"

Keira smirked impishly and ruffled my hair, "Oh, you know."

Alistair chuckled at our little interaction. He then pointed back toward the direction to Duncan's tent, "Shall we proceed?"

"What about the other recruits?" I asked.

Keira patted my shoulder, "Way ahead of you, brother." I rolled my eyes. We proceeded to slowly walk our way to Duncan's tent, while we caught up with each other on what we did.

We started walking back, Alistair between Keira and I.

I can't wait to tell them my tale of the little "Adventure" I had.

...

_KeiraPOV_

"You did _what_ now?"

I smirked at Gavin, "That's right, I fed a prisoner and accquired a key to a Tranquil's stash." I dangled the key up in front of my brother's face. The look of envy in his eyes almost made me chuckle. He quickly wiped off any look of jealousy on his features, and proudly told of us his "Adventure" that he had. Alistair was pretty engaged in Gavin's story telling, wanting to know every detail possible. I was right. They're definitely getting along. Though, some of his Gavin's story didn't seem right..

"You _rescued _a girl from falling off a ledge?" Alistair's jaw dropped and spoke with words of sheer amazement, "That's incredible!"

Gavin proudly crossed his arms and nodded, "Well, I couldn't just ignore her desperate cries for help," he shrugged, "She apparantly tripped, and luckily, I was there to pull her up." He sighed and leaned over toward Alistair, "I know anyone would've done the same."

I smell exaggeration.

I rolled my eyes and leaned over to Alistair, whispering "Did I ever tell you Gavin likes to fib a little?"

Alistair innocently shook his head.

I bent over slightly to glance at Gavin, only to receive a cold glare. "I heard that." He said in a flat tone. I meekly smiled back at him and we continued the rest of the way in silence. It wasn't long before we made it back to Duncan, meeting up with Jory and Daveth, the other recruits. Upon our arrival, I received a happy bark from Carlin as he trotted over to greet us.

"Ah, I'm glad you could join us." Duncan said, "Now we can get started." He gave a stern look to Alistair and raised a brow, "Hopefully, you are done riling up the mages, correct?"

Alistair shrugged and smiled, "What can I say? It wasn't my fault the mage had a short temper."

Duncan's reaction hadn't changed, keeping a strict tone of voice, "Alistair, provoking the mages is the least we need right now. You know this."

Alistair's smile had quickly faded, "Right, Duncan," He muttered, "I'm sorry." It was strange, I almost thought Duncan's strict tone was a bit.. Thoughtful? Alistair had briefly spoke to me about Duncan, saying how much he had admired him. He hadn't told me very much besides that, but Duncan almost seemed to be a Father figure to Alistair in a way. Maybe it was just me who noticed this, I don't know. It was just the way they interacted, I could recall when my mother nagged or scolded me about something, and we would act a way similar to this. Suddenly, a flood of memories started to come back. Memories of home, my family... I quickly tried shaking these thoughts out the best I could. I hadn't thought about home this much since our journey here.

I left the thoughts behind for now as I listened to Duncan address us, "Now, the five of you will be heading into the Korcari Wilds to perform two tasks. First, you must contain four vials of Darkspawn blood, which will be used in the Joining. Second, it had come to my attention that there are some scrolls that were left behind at an abandoned Grey Warden outpost," He turned his direction toward Alistair, "Alistair, I trust you to retrieve the scrolls and bring them back here. They are treaties that will be needed within the coming days."

Alistair nodded in understanding as Duncan turned back to the rest of us, "Are there any other questions?"

We glanced at each other, and slowly shook our heads.

Duncan nodded, "I suggest you proceed quickly, to return before nightfall. Alistair, be sure you watch over these recruits."

Alistair spoke with confidence in his voice, "I will, Duncan. No worry."

"Return soon, and be safe," Duncan said, "Maker watch over you, I will be here when you all return."

We nodded to Duncan and headed for the gates. I gulped as we neared the gates. Alistair noticed I was becoming anxious and walked over by my side, "Don't worry," he whispered, "It'll be fine, I promise." I sighed with relief and gave a thankful smile at Alistair. I don't really know why, but his words reassured me right away.

I prepared myself as the guard opened the doors, and I took my first step into the Korcari Wilds.

* * *

_Well, there you have it! Did the end seem a bit rushed? Sorry, I finished this up at roughly 2:30 am. In case you were wondering why I was up this late, since I have an early flight, my strategy was to stay up until the flight, then sleep on the plane. Weird strategy, huh? I'll probably read this over again when I'm more awake, and I might edit some of it. I'll let you know if I do :) Anyway, hope you liked it! I know this was mainly in Gavin's POV, but the next chapter will be mostly in Keira's to make up for it. Feedback appreciated! Point out any typos or errors please, and I will have them fixed pronto! I tried reading through, making sure I got all of them, but being up this late I don't know if I was successful. Next chapter should be up probably in a week. Sooner, maaaybe. It depends if I have time to update while on vacation. :) _

_I'm thinking I should go back and make a part where Alistair and Keira talk with Jory and Daveth? But I'm not sure if that's needed or not. But, I might, I don't know yet :)_

_Let me know your thoughts! :D_

_-Kat_

_P.S.  
I've been "Smiley" happy lately, please excuse that :)_


	6. The Wilds

_AN: Hey guys, I'm back! So vacation was good, however I didn't have a chance to update. I apologize! Fortunately, I was able to still write and work on chapters on some days :D I didn't have time to write as much as I would've liked though. And when I got back, I got caught up with work and junk! Sorry I couldn't update sooner. It didn't really help that I actually had some writer's block with this D:. Vacay was fun, kinda wished it lasted longer though! Anyway, thanks for all the feedback last chapter! You reviewers, favoriters, alerters, and lurkers don't go unnoticed :) Thanks so much! Anyway, here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy :)_

_Oh! And as for the last chapter, I'm thinking of adding the interaction with Jory and Daveth, and as I said before, I'll let you know when I do. Also when I do add that, there'll be little conversations between Alistair and Keira, like where it would've went right after chapter 4. Anyway, I'm currently working on it :D Not sure when I'll add it, but I'll let you all know._

* * *

**Chapter 6. The Wilds**

_KeiraPOV_

The Korcari Wilds.

I don't know what was worse. How eerie and unsettling I felt in this place, or how all I could smell from here on out was putrid stench of swamp water.

I wrinkled my nose to the smell as I took in our surroundings. The foliage enclosed us, feeling as though we were given no room to breathe. The trees were dressed in shadows and towered high above us as though they never ended. Tree branches twisted into claw-like and distorted limbs, setting off a ominous feeling. They swayed with the wind, some outstretched to us, as though they were attacking. I shuddered as I heard the air whistle through the trees. In the distance, all I could see was a thick mist blocking my vision. One thing I was sure of: Get the job done as quick as possible.

As we furthered ourselves through the Wilds, I began to wonder to myself. How on earth could Fergus be scouting here? This place was just.. Awful, to say the least. Maker, I hope he's alright.

"Ugh," Gavin exclaimed, "That smell is awful." He pinched his nose, trying not to inhail the smell.

Alistair sighed, "Let's just focus on getting those vials and scrolls."

I laughed and spoke sarcastically, "Easy enough, right?"

It wasn't long before when we stumbled upon our first enemy. In the distance, we could hear movement heading toward us. We readied our weapons, only to be attacked by a pack of wolves. They were surprisingly more aggressive than I thought them to be in the wild. We had no choice but to hack through them. _That's odd_, I thought, _what would cause these animals to be so aggressive?_ I know from Albus's teachings that wolves hardly ever attack unless provoked, or desperate for food... Could it be the darkspawn that affected their behavior?

I quietly chuckled to myself, _Or perhaps they're unhappy about the smell too. _

We continued on, passing by part of the swamp. I noticed Gavin looking intrigued, he walked over to the water's edge and bent down. I raised a brow at him, "What is it?" I slowly walked over to his side and the others soon followed. I looked down to see the lifeless body of a man, floating in the murky water. "Look, Chantry robes," mumbled Alistair, "Perhaps he was planning on coverting the Chasind." Gavin nodded at his comment as he was scanning through a piece of paper he picked up off the man. "Looks like it," he said. He showed us the letter, who was signed by a man named Rigby. We didn't show much interest in the letter, however, and continued on.

We proceeded forward, following the pathways around the trees. So far, we haven't run into any darkspawn. I was surprised to say the least. As we walked further into the Wilds, I stopped as I heard faint moans ahead. Gavin raised a brow and strode to my side. He tilted his head toward the sound, trying to hear it. A couple seconds passed and I heard more aching and moaning. "Do you hear that too?" I asked. I looked toward everyone else and they slowly nodded in response. "Let's go." Gavin said as he started to run towards the sound. I followed quickly behind him, seeming to leave Alistair stunned. I could faintly hear Alistair and the others follow behind us, "H-Hey! Wait up!"

As we ran toward the sound, I saw the bodies of dead, bloodied soldiers, scattered around us. I slightly panicked to myself, and as I passed each one, I quickly scanned their faces. Not one of them was Fergus. Thank the Maker.

Soon enough, we found the source of the moaning and yells. I looked down to see a man, a dying soldier, trying to crawl toward us, "Who.. is that?.. The Grey Wardens?"

Alistair spoke in a flat tone, "Well he's not half as dead as he looks, is he?"

The man coughed as he struggled to speak, "My scouting band was attacked by darkspawn!" He exclaimed, "They came out of the ground!.. Please, help me! I've got to.. Get back to camp.."

Gavin and I exchanged glances with each other, and I could sense he was thinking the same as I. We bent down to try to aid the man. "Let's try to bandage him up, at least." Gavin said. He looked to us to see if any brought bandages. "I have bandages in my pack," Alistair stated. He bent down and helped us bandage the man up. While doing so, I glanced to Gavin and we started to question the man, "You said you were in a scouting band, yes?" Gavin asked.

The man nodded in reply, "Yes, why do you ask?"

"Have you.. I mean, did you.. Have a man with you by the name of Fergus in your group?" I asked quietly to the man. I looked to his face, waiting for his reply.

The man pondered for a bit, but hastily shook his head, "No, I believe he was in the other scouting band that set out first... Why do you wish to know?"

Me and Gavin simply shook our heads, both replying, "Just wondering." I felt a stinging in my gut, thinking of what could've happened. What if Fergus's scouting group got attacked like this? It's a miracle that this man survived, but what if it happened to my dear brother? I shook this thoughts out of my head. No, it wouldn't happen. I have to stay positive.

After we got the man bandaged up, Alistair and Gavin helped the man to his feet.

"Here, we can take you back to camp." I offered as I gestured my hand down the path, "It's not too far away."

The man shook his head, "No, no. I'll be fine... Thank you again." He bowed his head in thanks, and began to limp back toward the camp.

As the man got further away, Jory bursted out, speaking in fear, "Did you hear? An entire patrol of seasoned men killed by darkspawn!"

Alistair sighed and replied back with a calm voice, "Calm down, Ser Jory. We'll be fine if we're careful." How would he know that?

Jory shook his head and retorted, "Those men were careful!" He exclaimed, "Yet they were still overwhelmed! How many darkspawn can the five of us slay? There's an entire _army_ in those forests!"

Alistair seemed unphased by his comment, "There are darkspawn about, but we're in no danger of walking into the bulk of the horde."

Jory raised his brow, questioning Alistair's knowledge, "How do you know? I'm no coward, but this is foolish and reckless. We should head back."

"You sound like a coward to me," Gavin mumbled. I shot him a glare, but thankfully Jory was in too much of a panic to hear him.

"Overcoming these dangers is part of our test." I said to Jory. I looked to Alistair's face, waiting for a reaction to my comment. Nothing. Perhaps this wasn't part of our test. Why would we be sent out here then? He's not telling us much.

Jory sighed in defeat, "That's.. True."

Alistair looked as though he wanted to tell us more. Like he wanted to tell us of what danger we'd be in, but he only explained something else to us. He sighed, "Know this: All Grey Wardens can sense darkspawn. Whatever their cunning, I guarantee they won't take us by surprise. That's why I'm here." So he's not just a babysitter after all. They always have to send in a Grey Warden with us, so they can sense any nearby darkspawn. Makes sense.

Daveth chuckled, teasing Jory, "You see, ser knight? We might die, but we'll be warned about it first."

Jory spoke with frustration, still not fully reassured. Alistair stated though he's here, he's not going to make it any easy for us. We nodded in understandment and moved on.

As we continued on, the guys tried to break the silence. Jory had talked of his days in Redcliffe, but also mentioned he was from Highever. This pleased Gavin and I, to know someone from our home town. Jory soon noticed soon noticed our weapons had the Cousland crest on them. Jory became thrilled once he figured out our Father was the teryn. Alistair raised his brow at this, seeming to be surprised. I had somewhat forgotten how he didn't know of our past. He didn't know what all had happened. Maybe we could tell him later, maybe when I'm ready to speak of it.

Gavin and Daveth made jokes as well, trying to entertain us. Daveth laughed with Gavin and started another joke, "So a darkspawn, an abomination, and a pony walked into a bar... Stop me if you've heard this one." I chuckled to some of their jokes, though cheesy as they might be. Something caught my attention down the path, and it apparantly caught Gavin's attention too. Amidst the shrubbery, there was a single, white flower growing with the other plants. "That flower," Daveth said, "White with the red-orange center. The kennel master was asking for those."

"That's the flower!" Gavin yelled with excitement as he ran over and picked it, "Oh that poor girl will heal quickly in no time with this!"

I gave him a confused look, "What girl?"

"The mabari I told you about," He grinned, "I need it to heal her. She's been sick with the taint. The kennel master told me to look for these." That's surprising. He's usually scared to death of mabaris. I guess his encounter at the kennel changed his mind somehow.

Daveth chuckled and turned to Gavin, "Might want to be careful picking flowers around the Wilds, mind you. They're as like to spit poison in your face as not." Gavin dismissed his comment and looked around for more flowers. I decided to keep a look out for them too. I couldn't bear the thought if Carlin were to get sick from the taint.

Right up ahead, we approached our first set of darkspawn. I wasn't as prepared as I thought I'd be when we faced them. They were... Horrible. Gavin shrieked with horror as he charged up and attacked. I pulled out my father's dagger and our family sword as we ran up and attacked the small group. We quickly brought them down, and I began to retrieve the four vials we needed of their blood. Task one: Complete.

"Oh Maker," Gavin shuddered, "Those things are so disgusting!"

"I know.." I muttered. So the stories about them were true. Hideous, vile creatures attacking anything in sight, spreading their taint around the land while doing so. They looked terrible. Horrible. Disgusting. I guess after awhile I'll get use to them. After all, I'm joining an order of warriors dedicated to fighting them.

We continued on and passed by under a fallen log between two cliffs. It looks as though the darkspawn had hung some soldiers there. "Look there," Alistair said, pointing to the hanged bodies, "Poor slobs! Looks a bit excessive, doesn't it?"

Gavin narrowed his eyes, looking confused as I was. "Why would darkspawn take the time to hang bodies?" He took the words right out of my mouth, "I thought they just killed mercilessly, not planning the time and effort to hang bodies as a warning."

Alistair shrugged, "Beats me. It might not have been darkspawn who hung them. Maybe Chasinds did."

As we ventured further, we kept running into more darkspawn. Strange enough, with every kill I made, fighting them proved to be easier. Mentally and physically. Can't say the same for Gavin. He still looked disgusted by them. I think I heard him say something about "burning their hideous faces off," but that sounds like something typical he'd say.

After passing by the hung soldiers, we came across the body of another man in Chantry robes. By the man, we found another piece of parchment. It appeared to be the last will and testament of a man named Rigby. The same Rigby from the note earlier. It mentioned a cache in the will. Wanting to fulfill this man's will, I asked everybody to keep a look out for the cache. Hopefully later we'll visit Redcliffe sometime. I'll be able to deliver the cache to the woman mentioned in the will, Jetta.

Eventually we came across a camp, though it was deserted. After looking around, it seems as though someone kept a journal on the signs of Chasind. Gavin and I read through it, quickly memorizing it's context, thinking it might come in handy later on. It was here also we found the cache mentioned in Rigby's will. Gavin was tempted to open it, but I slapped his hands away as I put the lock box in my pack.

"Heeey," he said, rubbing his hand, "Why can't we open it?"

"It's private property!.. Kind of," I replied, "Besides, it's not ours. Right now, it's Jetta's." Gavin sighed in defeat. I looked to Alistair's face, only to see a cheerful look on his face. He seemed to be.. Happy of my decision. Approving, almost. I don't know why, but this itself made _me_ happy.

Future note: Do things to make Alistair smile like that again. I liked that.

As we continued to the Grey Warden outpost, which seemed to take longer than we expected, the information from the journal of Chasind signs proved handy. Gavin and I spotted several on our path. We also came across two statues and a chest, like the ones described in the letter to Jogby. I felt a frown form at my lips as I read Rigby's farewell letter that was placed in the chest. This only made me more determined to deliver his lock box to his wife, Jetta.

We ran into another group of darkspawn. We could see the area had been infected with their taint. Everything was black. The ground, the trees, the plants. Everything had withered and died from the taint. It was a grave reminder of exactly how deadly their blood was. Yet we were carrying vials of their blood with us. What for? Though I didn't understand why, I suppose we'll soon find out. Gavin ran off to a small camp fire he saw set up near the area.

"Hey guys, come here!" He yelled and signaled us to come over. As we walked over, he pulled out a Chasind stash of items hidden in the log. "Looks like those Chasind signs came in handy." He spoke with excitement as he showed everyone the items he recovered. He quickly put everything away in his pack.

We continued walking, and past the thick mist, I think I could see another building, another ruin. Maybe that's the outpost? I quickly paced toward the building, very eager to get the scrolls and get out. However, on the way, we passed by a pile of stone. It was like any other stones I've seen, so I don't know why Gavin had taken an interest to it. We stopped real quick and Gavin had stopped in front and pulled something out of his pack. "What are you doing? I asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing." I stepped closer and noticed a pack of ashes in Gavin's hands, he started sprinkling them onto the stone, "Found this from a darkspawn we defeated. Just curious, is all." I have a bad feeling about this.

"Curiosity kills the cat, they say." Daveth mumbled. As soon as he had said that, an angered spirit sprung up from the rubble. What timing!

"Who dares awaken Gazarath!" He roared we quickly pulled out our weapons and defended ourselves. It didn't take much to take him down. Though sometimes, I really want to strangle Gavin. I looked over to him, only to see his face full of amusement. "Interesting." He stated as he began to walk off. Maker's breath.

I shot him a glare, and spoke in a flat tone, "Thanks for that, Gavin."

"Oh c'mon Keira," He groaned, "Have a little fun, will you?"

"I will once we find the scrolls." I hate to admit it, but I was pretty grumpy at the moment. We're bloody, cold, and it smells worse than a wet dog here. We all wanted to get out quickly, well, except maybe Gavin. This place could provide him entertainment for hours.

A couple minutes later, we finally, **finally**, made it to what looked like the Grey Warden outpost. After hacking our way through a group of darkspawn, we started to search inside the outpost. We couldn't find a thing! We looked through several boxes in the warden cache, but so far we've come across nothing having to do with the scrolls Duncan asked for.

As we searched for the scrolls around the area, I could hear light steps coming our way. I quickly looked over toward the sound, seeing a strange woman descend from the upper level of the building. How did we not notice her earlier? I swear a second ago I didn't even see the woman. I poked Gavin's shoulder, redirecting his attention. The others soon followed, having quizzical looks on their faces as they looked to the new face.

I studied the woman, suspecting her to be around my age. I noticed right away there was a piece of charred wood on her back, which I'm guessing is used as a staff. What would a mage be doing out here? Was she chasind? I had only heard stories about them, not ever seeing one before my eyes. I looked to her face, seeing her hair was as dark as mine. Her skin contrasted to her hair, showing her very pale complexion. The mage's face was striking; it was filled with confidence, but almost too much of it. It's almost as if she saw herself better than us. Her eyes were like daggers. Those amber orbs gave off a cold glare, full of disgust and pride. Her clothes were another thing, if you could even call them clothes. She wore a small robe, though it was more like a piece of cloth, having draped to barely cover the essential areas. Below that she was dressed in simple, black leather pants. Compared to the other half of her attire, it was much more appropriate.

I looked over besides me to see Gavin staring wide eyed at the woman, jaw extending to the ground. Figures. He was practically drooling all over himself. Behind us, I could see Daveth having the same expression on his face. Figures. I had forgotten we had charmers and drooling lechers in our group.

On the other hand, next to Daveth, Jory had a look of fright in his eyes, while Alistair looked more hostile toward the woman. I recall how he wasn't fond of mages, and also how he mentioned he was a templar, so I could only expect him to be so hostile around this woman.

Her voice echoed throughout the ruins, "My, my, what have we here?"

The woman slowly made her way down toward us, "Are you vultures, I wonder?" She spoke with amusement in her voice, "Scavengers, poking amidst a corpse whose bones were long since cleaned?" She slowly made a stop at the end of the stone incline, "Or merely intruders, come into these darkspawn filled Wilds in search of easy prey?"

Alistair took a step foward to join Gavin and I, keeping a hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to strike if needed. After the woman spoke, Daveth had snapped himself out of his trance, and a look of fear slowly came upon his face. Daveth and Jory remained a few steps behind us, not wanting to become involved. The woman raised a brow and shot a glance at Gavin and I, "What say you? Hmm? Scavengers or Intruders?" She asked demandingly.

"Neither." - "Scavengers?"

I raised a brow and looked over at Gavin, who shrugged his shoulders innocently. "What? She asked a question, didn't she? Or did she not ask me?"

"That wasn't exactly the best answer.." I muttered under my breath. The least I'd want to do is go tell someone, specifically a Chasind, we were scavengers. Not exactly the best way to give a first impression. Of course, Gavin was too busy gawking at the poor woman. The last thing on his mind was giving a decent answer.

I looked back to the woman, who was shaking her head, her voice full of sarcasm, "Such a bright fellow we have here, yes?" She turned to me, amusement filled her face, "And I sense you share blood with this man, how I pity you." Instead of coming up with a reply, I held my composure and remained silent. This wasn't what we came to talk about. A quarrel wasn't what we needed either.

Gavin of course had to throw in his two cents. He broadly grinned at the woman, unphased by her comment. He chuckled softly, "Please, my lady. Surely a fine woman such as yourself can't be that cold to me, yes?" He crossed his arms, radiating a proud look from his face.

She looked down in annoyance, narrowing her eyes at the man. He gave a cocky look back to her, not afraid of what this mage could do. She quietly shook her head at his comment, and put it aside for the moment. She became calm and glanced back to me, speaking in a demanding tone, "You," she spoke, pointing to me, "Continue."

I cleared my throat and glanced over at Alistair, he gave a quick nod and I faced the woman again. "I say neither," I answered calmly, "The Grey Wardens once owned this tower."

She gave a small smirk, as though she was expecting this answer. "Ah, but 'tis the tower no longer." She began to walk past us, toward the other side of the ruins, gesturing her hands to the ruin walls as she spoke, "The Wilds have obviously claimed his desiccated corpse. I have watched your progress for some time," she stopped and turned back to us, "'Where do they go? I wondered, 'Why are they here?'"

I turned around and stepped up to face her, as did Alistair and Gavin. Daveth and Jory, however, took a few steps back. I could tell by their faces how uneasy they felt around this woman.

She continued and turned to us, "And now, you disturb the ashes that none have touched for so long. Why is that?"

As I opened my mouth to reply, Alistair stopped me, "Don't answer her," he said with hostility, "She looks Chasind, which means others may be nearby."

Gavin grinned and quietly mumbled, "If all Chasinds looked like her, I wouldn't mind if there _were_ more." I shot him a glare and swiftly elbowed him for his comment. "Ow.."

The woman's eyes flared with annoyance as she shot a glance at Gavin, she then quickly turned her attention to Alistair speaking in an overly dramatic tone, using her arms to further illustrate her point, "Oh, you fear that barbarians will swoop down upon you."

Alistair's eyes narrowed as he spoke in a dry tone, drawing out his words, "Yes, swooping is bad."

Jory spoke in a frantic tone and muttered, "I-I'd not test her if I were you, there's no telling what she can do!"

"She's a Witch of the Wilds, she is!" Said Daveth, speaking anxiously, "She'll turn us all into toads, she will!" Could she really do that? For some reason I doubted it.

"Witch of the Wilds.." The woman scoffed at his comment, "Such idle fantasies, those legends." She shook her head to herself in amusement, "Have you no minds of your own?" She pointed at me, "You there. Women do not frighten like little boys. Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine."

"I'm Kei-"

"Oh," Gavin burst, "And what of my name?" He sighed and crossed his arms, "Must you ignore me this whole time?" He smirked at the woman, who only look annoyed by Gavin, "I think my persistance says I'm not frightened, yes?"

Her eyes narrowed at Gavin, "But it does say you are foolish," she gestured her hand toward me, "Your relative here proves herself otherwise."

I blanked out, not exactly finding the words I wanted to say, "Um..?"

Gavin's expression turned to one of amusement. He strolled over to my side, placing his arm around my shoulder. "This is my dear sister, Keira. And _you_ may call _me_ Gavin." A michievious smile appeared upon his face, "Pleased to meet you, my lady."

The woman's expression had lightened up, speaking in her own amused tone. "My, my.. Now that is a proper civil greeting, even here in the Wilds." She quietly chuckled to herself, "_You_ may call _me_ Morrigan."

"Nice to meet you, Morrigan." I added. A tiny smile formed from her lips as she began to pace around the ruins. "Shall I guess why you're here? You sought something in that chest, something that's here no longer?"

"Here no longer?" Alistair exclaimed, his eyes suspiciously watching Morrigan, "As in you stole them, didn't you?" He began to point fingers at her, accusing her of such a deed, "You're some kind of.. Sneaky, witch-thief!" Gavin and I chuckled at his accusation. Though, Morrigan didn't seem amused.

I could hear her voice dripping with sarcasm, "How very eloquent," she looked around the asked the scenery, "Yet how does one steal from dead men?"

Alistair retorted aggressively, "Quite easily it seems," He continued with a stern tone in his voice, "Those documents are Grey Warden property, and I demand you return them."

"I will not." She crossed her arms and looked at Alistair's face, looking quite satisfied with his reaction, " For 'twas not I who removed them. Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer if you wish; I am not threatened." She watched as Alistair's unrelenting expression slowly faded.

"Sneaky." A grin tugged from the corner of Gavin's mouth, "If it wasn't you, then who removed them?"

Morrigan uncrossed her arms, "'Twas my mother, in fact."

"Well, can you take us to her?" I asked innocently. Surely she couldn't deny us of this request, right?

Morrigan's face lit up in surprise, "Now there is a sensible request. You, dear girl, are certainly not foolish." I couldn't help but let a small smile pull at my lips. So far, it seems like a good thing to stay on her good side. She turned to Gavin and I, "A nice greeting and a sensible request, I'm starting to like you two." She flashed a smile, "If it pleases you, I will take you to my mother."

Alistair started to speak with caution, "I'd be careful if I were you. First it's 'I like you,'" though his voice quickly dropped flat, "but then ZAP. Frog time." First it's toads, now it's frogs. Did I miss something earlier? Was I suppose to get a memo about accusing mages of.. Amphibian magic?

Gavin snorted and shrugged, "Who cares?" Alistair sighed and shook his head.

Daveth exclaimed, "She'll put us all in the pot, she will!" He spoke frantically, "Just you wait!"

Jory sighed and muttered, "If the pot's warmer than this forest, it'll be a nice change."

I heard a soft chuckle come from Gavin, "Atta' boy Jory," he mumbled as he patted the knight on the back. "So does that mean we can go?" Gavin spoke with excitement in his voice, his eyes lit up as he turned to me for an answer.

"Um.." I looked to Alistair, looking for a decision. He tilted his head to the wall of the ruins, suggesting to talk of something away from the others. I nodded and we both walked away from the group.

"You know," he said in a low voice, "I don't like this."

I sighed and leaned my side against the wall of the ruins. I slighty jumped as my cheek felt the cool touch of ruin's stone. I looked up at Alistair's face, "I know. We need those treaties though, right?" I shrugged, "I say we go with her."

He leaned over against the wall as well, and brought his face down to my level. He softly chuckled, "Unfortunately you're right." I think I felt my heart skip a beat. His face was mere inches away from mine. I could barely feel his warm breath touch my face as he sighed, "But we'll just have to keep alert, won't we?"

I quietly laughed, and recalled our conversation from camp. After I had met him, I asked many questions, many of which were answered. I was intrigued when I found out he was templar, thus explaining his feelings toward mages. "Well, you did mention you were a templar, did you not?" I felt my lips curl into a wry smile. I straightened myself from the wall and poked a finger at his chest, "That means _you'll _be able to protect us, right?"

He chuckled and crossed his arms, his tone turning playful, "That's right," He exclaimed as he pointed to himself, "The big _scary _templar shall protect the damsel in distress from the witch thief."

I smiled, feeling more relaxed. Though he had not spoken in a serious matter, he had made me feel a bit more secure about our situation. After all, it was his word to Duncan that he'll watch over us. Even if it wasn't, I felt a sense of security around him. I softly laughed at his comment, "Hey, who's calling me a _damsel in distress_?"

He smirked, "Who ever said I was talking about you?" I smirked as he gestured back to the group, pointing at Daveth, "It looks like Daveth could pass as one right now." We both glanced over at the group, Gavin looked like he was keeping Morrigan distracted with his so called 'Personal Charm'. Jory was idly waiting for us, practically picking his nose while doing so. While lastly, Daveth stood the furthest away from Morrigan, biting his nails in fear of what might come. The second Morrigan starting to speak, he quickly became frightened of her. Perhaps it was because of the tales he heard as he was growing up?

"He does seem to be afraid of her.." I muttered softly as I observed him, "He's been pretty nervous since she's showed up."

Alistair snorted and spoke with a wry tone, "You think?" He turned his gaze away from the group, "I think we've made a decision. Shall we go on?"

I nodded. As we began to proceed back, I stopped in my my steps to ask him something, "Oh, but why didn't you ask the others to discuss this too? Why ask just my opinion?"

He stopped and turned back to face me and muttered, "Well besides the fact Gavin and the others made themselves very clear about their thoughts..." he smirked as his voice flowed with a warm tone, "You heard Morrigan, you certainly aren't foolish." He blushed as I smiled broadly at his comment, he whispered, "Quite the opposite in fact." I could feel the heat quickly climb up to my cheeks. I looked up at him, whose cheeks had reddened even more. As I met his gaze, we quickly looked down in embarrassment, hiding our deeply blushed faces.

I laughed awkwardly, drawing out my words, "Sooo.. Should we go on?" I slightly tilted my head up, waiting for answer.

He quickly nodded and laughed, gesturing his hand over his shoulder toward the others. "Yeah, let's go."

...

_GavinPOV_

Morrigan scoffed and crossed her arms. She was becoming impatient, almost a bit feisty, if I might add. "Ugh, what's taking your friends so long?"

I crossed my arms and smirked, taking a few steps toward her, "They're just discussing Grey Warden stuff."

She rolled her eyes at my comment. In the corner of my eye, I noticed Keira and Alistair approach us. "Well?" I questioned, "What's decided? You already know my thoughts on this." I turned to face the two, first studying their faces, hoping to read their decision.

Flushed faces.

So maybe they weren't discussing just Grey Warden stuff. I'll be sure to invade Keira's private life later.

Keira simply shrugged, "It's unlikely we'd be in any danger. Besides, need those scrolls," she gestured to Morrigan and flashed a thankful smile, "Lead the way when you're ready. Thanks for taking us to her, by the way." Morrigan grinned back, almost like saying 'You're Welcome'.

"She hasn't done anything for us yet," Alistair mumbled at her side. I quickly shooshed Alistair, then turned to Morrigan and gave her a broad smile. "Well, you heard them. Let's go."

Morrigan nodded and began to walk, she gestured her hands, signaling to follow us. I took the lead of the group, following right behind her as the others stayed close behind me. She took us down a path I had not noticed before. I tried to keep track of where we were going, I really did. It proved to be more difficult than I thought. We kept twisting and weaving around trees, almost as if we were going in circles. I noticed some markers we passed by, such as strange symbols carved in the trees, or simply skulls mounted on barbaric spears. I'm surprised to say that we hadn't run into any darkspawn in the way. Perhaps she was deliberately taking us in circles to keep us from danger? I looked over at Alistair, and nothing on his face gave any signs darkspawn nearby. I shrugged to myself and continued on.

Not much time had passed before Morrigan broke the silence, "Worry not, we're almost there." We nodded in understandment and continued. On our way there, I wondered what Morrigan's mother would be like. She would most likely resemble Morrigan, yes? Beauty. She might also have youth, being a Witch of the Wilds, if she is, she would know spells or dark magic to keep her youth, yes? Young. If she raised Morrigan, then maybe that's where Morrigan gets her attitude, yes? Sarcastic.

Beauty. Young. Sarcastic.

Just what I need. I soon became excited at the thought of meeting her mother. I couldn't wait to meet someone new! I couldn't wait to see a beautiful face! I couldn't wait to speak with someone young and sarcastic, with a good sense of humor. I couldn't wait to see... Wait to see...

An old hag not bearing a slight resemblance to her daughter.

My dreams just came crashing back down to Ferelden.

* * *

_AN: There's chapter 6 :) Longer than I thought it would be. Next chapter shall start off with Gavin's POV, just letting you know. So again, sorry for the wait, I usually update faster than this. Hope it makes up for the wait! Anyway, I'll try to update as soon as I can! I'm going to try to update frequently, but as soon as fall sports and school starts up I might be slowed down a little bit! It's hard to believe that summer is already almost over :( It goes by way too fast, doesn't it?_

_Feedback appreciated! If there's any typos I missed let me know and I'll change them ASAP! :)_

_Oh, and I'm co-writing a story with Rowan Cousland, so when she posts it you should go check it out :) We're still working on the first chapter though._

_Thanks again!_

_-Kat_


	7. The Joining

_Hey again! Thanks for all your feedback yet again! I appreciate it!  
Sooo I thought I'd update sooner than this, alas I did not :( I apologize for this. I've been slowed down for everything I've been writing, but I caught up today. I recently was the photographer for my cousin's wedding, so I was busy with that. And I had hell week, plus I was sick during the end of hell week too. To those who might not know what hell week is.. It's basically tryouts for fall sports. Brutal, brutal tryouts.. Hence the name Hell Week. But now that hell week is over and my cousin's wedding is over, I think I should be on a regular updating schedule shortly :)_

_-Kat_

* * *

**Chapter 7. The Joining**

_GavinPOV_

My expectations were yet again shot down by reality.

We reached a small clearing, where before us we saw a small hut. In front of the hut, as though she was expecting us, was what I guessed to be Morrigan's mother. She looked terribly old, much to my dismay. The old woman was not at all like I pictured. She wore tattered clothes, her hair as white as snow. She doesn't even seem to be a so called Witch of the Wilds. She just looked to be your average, crazy senile woman. She stepped forward as we approached her.

Morrigan stopped as she addressed the woman, "Hello Mother," she gestured her hand towards us, "I bring before you five Grey Wardens who-"

Her mother held her hand up, stopping her, "I see them, girl." She took a couple seconds to observe us, "Mmm, much as I expected."

Alistair snorted at her comment, seeming to be skeptical, "Are we suppose to believe you were expecting us?"

"You are not required to do anything, least of all believe." She crossed her arms, "Shut one's eyes tight, or open one's arms wide, either way, one's a fool." She's playing a game with us. There was something strange about this woman. She waited like she was expecting our arrival, and now she's testing us with little riddles. Something intrigued me about her. I could already tell she wasn't your normal old woman. No, she seemed far more than that.

I felt a nudge at my arm, I turned only to see Daveth, speaking in a low tone, "She's a witch, I tell you! We shouldn't be talking to her."

I heard Jory scowl behind us, "Quiet Daveth! If she's really a witch, do you want to make her mad?"

I turned to face Morrigan's mother again. She grinned at their comments, looking quite satisfied, "There is a smart lad. Sadly irrelevant to the larger scheme of things, but it is not I who decides. Believe what you will."

"And what of you two?" She turned to Keira and I, eyeing us down like prey. She studied us for some time, exchanging glances between him and I. What was it that intrigued her? "Interesting.." She mumbled quietly to herself as she stroked her chin, looking as though she was still in deep thought.

I turned to Keira and raised a brow. She looked to me and simply shrugged. I faced the woman again, breaking her out of her thoughts, "Erm?.."

She quickly snapped her head up to us, locking her attention to the two of us, "Do your twin minds give you two a different viewpoint? Or do you both believe as the others behind you?"

I crossed my arms, locking eyes at the woman, "What do you mean, _believe_?" She raised a brow at my answer, as though I caught her off guard. I continued, narrowing my eyes at the woman, "We're no fools, is that's what you're asking."

"Ha!" The woman let out a chuckle, "Do not be so quick to protest then!"

Keira sighed and added, "Honestly, I don't think he knows what to believe. Neither do I."

She raised a brow, interested in her answer. "A statement that possesses than it implies. Be always aware!" She paused for a moment and tilted her head, "Or was it oblivious? I can remember."

Keira brought her hand to her chin. She seemed to be thinking about something, something the woman had mentioned earlier, "But what do you mean by twin minds?" She asked, "What's so special about that?"

Morrigan's mother chuckled to herself, "You know what I mean, girl." She let out a wistful sigh, "Oh to be a connected soul. Experiencing the other's feelings, mentally and physically. Feeling their emotions. Sharing dreams. Sensing thoughts. Am I speaking the truth? Why, maybe I am. Or maybe I'm just a babbling old woman, do not mind me."

Half of the things this woman said made no sense. However, I did in fact understand what she meant by her words, sort of. There were times where I sensed what Keira was thinking. There were times when I felt her emotions. Come to think of it... There were times where we had experienced all of the things Morrigan's mother had said. But why had it been important enough for her to mention it? Usually no one would know those things unless they themself was a twin. This woman was playing a game with us, I'm sure. One thing I'm certain, this woman knew more than she was telling us. Her crazy old woman act didn't fool me.

Keira and I merely glanced at each other and shrugged. I can tell she was intrigued by this woman as well, and knowing her, she was slightly suspicious too. Morrigan's mother looked intently at the two of us, "Ah, so much about you two is uncertain. And yet, I believe. Why, it seems I do!"

"So..." Alistair grinned as he slowly spoke in a sarcastic tone, "This is the dreaded Witch of the Wilds?" Seems as though the old woman's mad act was believable for Alistair.

"Witch of the Wilds, eh?" Her eyes lit up with amusement, "Morrigan must have told you that. She fancies such tales, though she would never admit it." I glanced at Morrigan, whose hand was covering her blushed face, embarrased by the woman's words. Her mother's hands clasped together with amusement, "Oh, how she dances under the moon!" She threw her head back and chuckled after she spoke. I raised a brow at Morrigan, intrigued by her mother's words.

The young witch looked down in embarrassment, mumbling, "They did not come to listen to your wild tales, Mother..." This intrigued me even more. I only wondered what sort of tales her Mother had to tell. I was rather curious and was about to ask of them, however, Morrigan's mother spoke as I opened my mouth.

"True." She simply stated, "They came for the treaties, yes?" She looked to us and we all quickly nodded in return. She turned her heel and headed inside their hut. From inside, she called out to us, "Now, before you begin barking, your precious seal wore off long ago." She soon emerged from the hut, her arms carrying a bundle of scrolls, "I have protected these."

Alistair began to speak with anger in his voice, "You!" He then seemed to register what she had said, tilting his head in confusion, "Oh, you protected them?"

She nodded, "And why not?" She handed the scrolls carefully to Alistair, "Take these to your Grey Wardens and tell them this Blight's threat is greater than they realize!"

Keira smiled at the woman. I couldn't tell if she was just trying to act polite, or if it was her eagerness to exit the forest that triggered her smile. "Thank you for returning them."

"Oh!" Morrigan's mother was taken by surprise. She threw her hands up and exclaimed, "Such manners! Always in the last place you look. Like stockings!"

I took a step foward, locking eyes with the woman. I raised an eyebrow at her, "Tell me, how do you even know all of this?"

Something sparked in the woman's eye. I believe she's figured out I'm not buying her act. Or perhaps she found out earlier. She merely shrugged at my question, "Do I? Perhaps I am simply an old woman with a penchant for moldy parchments."

"Oh do not mind me," she threw her head back and cackled, "You have what you came for!"

Morrigan smirked, speaking in a cold tone, "Time for you to go then."

Her mother hastily shook her head, "Do not be ridiculous, girl!" We all turned to her mother in surprise, "These are your guests!" Well, it's nice to know Chasinds have manners too.

Morrigan let out a heavy sigh and turned back to us. She gestured her hands back toward the direction we came from, "Oh, very well. I will show you out of the woods. Follow me."

We followed behind Morrigan as she led us through the pathways yet again. It seemed as though this time we took a different path. Why? Was it because the horde was becoming ever so near? I looked to Alistair yet again, as I did earlier on our way to meet Morrigan's mother. He looked more cautious than last time, though I wasn't sure if this was because of our encounter with Morrigan.. Or a close encounter with darkspawn. I looked around and hadn't seen any darkspawn in sight. I shrugged and set the matter aside. It didn't seem as though we were in any danger. After a couple more twists and turns around the dark, looming trees, we made it back to the abandoned outpost where we had encountered Morrigan earlier.

Everyone sighed with relief as they walked to the middle of the outpost. Keira and Daveth plopped down on the ground, hoping to take a little breather before continuing. I could hear Morrigan's voice from behind us, "There you go. I think you should be able to make it back from here."

I smirked slyly, "Well, I suppose so." I quickly turned a heel and spun around to face her, "I suppose we should-"

Where'd go she?

Maker's breath. This wasn't the first time a woman vanished the minute I turned my attention away.

I scurried around the area, calling out Morrigan's name. Yet, she was nowhere to be found. I had not even gotten the chance to say goodbye to her, let alone thank her. I sighed and turned to face the others. "When did she leave?"

Keira shrugged. She yawned and stretched her arms as she stood from the ground, "Beats me. She didn't seem very fond to the idea of being around us," She paused for a moment, "Well, she liked you and me. But that's it."

Alistair crossed his arms, speaking in a low tone, "I didn't like her anyway. Good riddance." I always knew she'd leave because of the damned templar. I'll get back at Alistair for this later.

Jory shook his head and sighed. "Let's just get back to camp already. We have what we need. If we're fortunate, we've completed the Joining and all passed." I look to Alistair's face, to see if this was true. I could see a grim look in his eyes, but he won't speak of the Joining to confirm what Jory had said. If this wasn't the Joining, then what was it? Was it really that secretive, that dangerous for us to complete it? Jory believes we had already passed, but I'm not so sure. Call me a fool, but I believe we haven't even went through the Joining yet.

If it's that much of a secret, anyone who wasn't a Grey Warden wouldn't know it, yes? But what if someone failed the Joining? They would know what the Joining entails, but they wouldn't become a Grey Warden... Only Grey Wardens knew about the Joining.

What if... They would die.

That was it, wasn't it? Those who didn't pass the Joining... They wouldn't be allowed to live with the secret, so they would die. In one way or another.

Whatever the Joining is, it's a life or death situation. I'm sure of this. I broke out of my thoughts as I heard Alistair speak, "Let's just get back to Duncan quickly," he sighed, "If we wait too long, you won't be able to swing a dead cat without hitting a darkspawn." And his sense of humor still makes me wonder. I rather liked his sense of humor, anyway.

Daveth stood up and sighed, "Well let's get back to Duncan. I'm hungry, anyway."

"Well, let's go then." Keira said. Daveth grinned back at her, replying with a wink "Hey, I'm following you aren't I?" Damn lecher. If I catch him looking at her backside one more time, he won't be following anyone back to camp.

Keira rolled her eyes at Daveth and began to walk out of the ruins. We all followed behind her and made our way back into the woods. On our way back, I noticed that nightfall hadn't come yet, which means we would have plenty of downtime before the battle was suppose to start. This made me very pleased. A hot meal sounded very nice right about now. As I took a step into camp, I smiled broadly at the others.

I took in a deep breath of satisfaction. No more swamp water. Things were already starting to look better.

...

_KeiraPOV_

Alistair said we should get to Duncan right away. I agreed. I wanted to get this Joining out of the way as soon as possible. I don't know why, but I was fretting about it so much. Ever since our encounter with Morrigan, I felt as though Gavin was anxious about the Joining as well. We began to head toward Duncan's fire, but something caught my attention in the corner of my eye. The Kennel Master. I nudged Gavin's arm and pointed toward the Kennel Master. His face lit up with joy as he strolled over to the kennels. Gavin ignored Jory's protest not to waste time, and much to Jory's disapproval, we all followed Gavin over to the kennels.

The Kennel Master smiled as we headed over to him. "You're Gavin, from earlier, yes?" Gavin nodded in response. "Were you able to retrieve the flowers?"

Gavin chuckled and grinned from ear to ear, "Sure thing!" He handed the kennel master about a dozen of those flowers, "You think this is enough?"

The man laughed whole-heartedly in return, looking very pleased by the amount Gavin had retrieved. "This is wonderful! This should be enough. I'm not sure if it'll cure the mabaris completely, but it's worth a shot. I'm happy to say we won't lose as many hounds tonight as I initially thought."

"Glad to hear it," Gavin said as he walked over to one of the mabaris pens. Maker, I couldn't believe my eyes. He was petting the mabari.

Gavin. Pet. The. Mabari.

I think that's the first time I've seen him getting along with one. I'm not sure whether I should be happy that he overcame his fear, or frightened that he was not acting himself.

The Kennel Master offered a reward, but Gavin politely declined. "As long as this girl gets better, that's all the reward I need." He smiled as he heard the hound's bark of approval. The Kennel Master spoke in a warm tone, "You're very generous. Thank you again." Surprisingly, he then turned to me, "I heard you're a mabari owner, is that right?" I nodded. "Duncan told me earlier. Here," He reached his hand out to me, holding a small parchment within his palm, "This is the recipe for the healing mixture, if your mabari was to become sick." I'm glad I decided to grab extra flowers for Carlin.

I felt a smile tug at the corner of my lips as I gently took the parchment from his hand, "I imagine you grabbed some flowers too?" he asked. I looked up to him and nodded, "Thank you so much! This will come in handy later." He gave a warm smile back to us and said it was the least he could do. We said our goodbyes to the Kennel Master and finally headed over by Duncan's fire. I was met by my massive ball of fur, who in the process of greeting me, knocked me down on the ground as he jumped on me with excitement.

I chuckled as Carlin's wet tongue slobbered all over my face, "Alright, boy! I know, I know. I missed you too!"

After acknowledging I missed him, Carlin happily barked and jumped off of me. Gavin grinned at this display of affection and offered a hand to help me to my feet. As I stood back up, Duncan seemed to be very eager to move forward. "So you return from the Wilds. Have you been successful?"

"Well, it was not easy.." I replied, "But yes. We were successful,"

"Good. I've had the Circle mages preparing. With the blood you've retrieved, we can begin the Joining immediately."

Gavin stepped foward and cleared his throat, "Actually, maybe we should mention where we got the scrolls from..."

Duncan raised a brow and turned to Alistair, expecting an explanation. "There was a woman at the tower and her mother had the scrolls. They were both very... Odd."

"Were they wilder folk?" Duncan asked.

Alistair shook his head, "I don't think so. They might be apostates: mages hiding from the Chantry."

Duncan sighed at Alistair's statement and frowned, "I know you were once a templar, Alistair, but Chantry business is not ours." Alistair's eyes focused to the ground as Duncan continued to speak in a stern tone, "We have the scrolls; let us focus on the Joining." Alistair slowly nodded, "Yes, I understand. I apologize."

I realized Duncan dismissed the subject before we even mentioned the old woman's warning. "But Duncan, one of them had a warning! She said the Blight's threat was greater than we realized!" I looked over to Gavin, and as if he read my mind, he continued my story. He glanced at me and nodded, then turned back to Duncan, "These two witches seemed to know a lot, Duncan, I think we should just-"

Duncan held his hand up, stopping Gavin. "We can discuss this later. For now, we should proceed to the Joining."

Duncan turned back to the four of us recruits, wondering if we had any questions. "Well," I said, "now will you tell us what this ritual is about?"

"I will not lie; we Grey Wardens pay a heavy price to become what we are. Fate may decree that you pay your price now rather than later."

A look of realization came about Gavin's face, "So you're saying this ritual can actually kill us?"

Duncan nodded, "As could any darkspawn you might face in battle. You would not be chosen, however, if I did not think you had a chance to survive." And yet there was no way to be sure we'd survive. Great. I looked to Gavin, though he did not seem shocked as I expected. Did he already think we were in mortal danger? What have you gotten us into, Duncan?

"Let's go then," Daveth said, "I'm anxious to see this Joining now."

Jory nodded in agreement, "Yes, I agree. Let's have it done."

"Then let us begin," Duncan turned his head to Alistair, "Take them to the old temple, if you please."

Alistair nodded and gestured us to follow him.

"The more I hear about this Joining, the less I like it." Jory said cautiously.

Daveth scoffed at him, "Are you blubbering again?"

Jory shook his head, speaking with a frustrated tone, "Why all these damned tests? Have I not earned my place?"

"Maybe it's tradition," Daveth shrugged, "Maybe they're just trying to annoy you."

Annoyed by the bickering, I decided to speak up. Placing a hand on my hip, I began to speak "I swear I'm the bravest one here, and I'm a woman." They looked to me, but continued their bickering. Not even acknowledging what I had said. Gavin chuckled and leaned in by my head, whispering "I don't think they really care." I rolled my eyes are continued to listen in on their conversation.

"I only know that my wife is in Highever with a child on the way. If they had warned me... It just doesn't seem fair."

Daveth sighed and asked, "Would you have come if they warned you? Maybe that's why they don't. The Wardens do what they must, right?"

"Including sacrificing us?" Jory snapped back.

Daveth shook his head, "I'd sacrifice a lot more if I knew it would end the Blight. Wouldn't you protect your pretty wife from the darkspawn?" Daveth had a point there. I was impressed how Daveth had been able to keep his courage with him throughout this whole ordeal. Jory, however, had been frightened about the whole time and let his fears overpower him.

As Jory hesitated to come up with a reply, Daveth continued, "Maybe you'll die. Maybe we'll both die. If nobody stops the darkspawn, then we'll all die."

Jory was becoming even more anxious about the Joining. I don't blame him, I'm anxious too. I wasn't as nervous as Jory was, but it was still there. Perhaps he was more worried because he had a family back home. For me, there's nothing to go back to. Nothing to fall back on. That may be why Gavin, Daveth, and I weren't showing as much fear. Daveth was a street thief, a cut purse. He didn't have a family to go back to either. I only wished that Jory's family wouldn't distract him through the Joining.. Or he wouldn't be given the chance to return to Highever again.

The two kept going at it until Gavin had something to say. He sighed heavily, and turned to face the two, "Will you guys just calm down?"

Daveth chuckled, "Yeah, ser knight, try not to wet your trousers until the ritual starts."

Jory looked down in embarrassment, "I've just never faced a foe I could not engage with my blade."

A couple minutes passed before Duncan joined us, "At last we come to the Joining." He held a large silver goblet in his hand, and had set it on the table as he walked over to us, "The Grey Wardens were founded during the first Blight, when humanity stood on the verge of annihilation. So it was the first Grey Wardens who drank the darkspawn blood, and mastered their taint."

Jory cringed and began to stutter, "W-We're.. Going to drink the blood of those... Those creatures?"

Duncan nodded and took a couple steps toward us, "As the first Grey Wardens did before us, as we did before you. This is the source of our power and our victory."

I noticed a quizzical look came upon Gavin's face, "Isn't darkspawn blood poisonous?" He turned to Alistair for a confirmation.

Alistair looked over and nodded in reply, "Those who survive the Joining become immune to the taint. We can sense it in the darkspawn and use it to slay the archdemon."

Though I was not completely ready for what was to come, I wanted to get it over with as soon as we could. I sighed heavily, "Let's get on with it, then."

Duncan nodded. "We speak only a few words prior to the Joining, but these words have been said since the first." He looked over to Alistair, "Alistair, if you will?"

Alistair bowed his head. We all mimicked his action as he began to speak, "Join us, brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where se stand, vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten," He took a second to pause, "And that one day we shall join you."

"Daveth, step forward." Duncan called out to him and handed him the chalice.

Daveth took a moment to look into the large cup. From where I was standing, I could see the liquid inside. Maker, it was as black as sin. Daveth quickly took a gulp of the liquid, and handed the chalice back to Duncan. A few moments passed as we stared at him, waiting to see what would happen next. He placed a hand on his forehead as he stumbled forward, directing his gaze to the ground.

".. Daveth?" I whispered. He didn't respond.

He cried out in pain. When he looked up, his pupils had vanished. All we could see was the white of his eyes.

As Jory saw this, he began to panic, "Maker's breath!" He took a few steps back as Daveth clutched his neck. Daveth dropped down to his knees. As he hit the floor, I swiftly ran over to his side. Was he really gone? I know I had only met him today, but I couldn't just stand by as I watched him die! I held his body in my arms, hoping he wasn't truly gone. "Daveth?"

Gavin looked down and spoke with a grim voice, "Keira, I don't think.." Gavin coughed as he stopped there. I sighed and bowed my head to Daveth, saying a quiet prayer to the Maker. He was gone. Just like that.

"I am sorry, Daveth." Duncan gave an apologetic look to Daveth's lifeless body. After saying the prayer, I laid Daveth on his back and stepped over toward Gavin. He wrapped a comforting around my shoulder. I knew Gavin didn't expect this to happen either.

Duncan did not waste time. He turned away from Daveth to face Jory. He held out the chalice to him, "Step forward, Jory."

Jory was in a complete panic now, "But I have a wife, a child. Had I known..." He began to take a few steps back from Duncan, slowly pulling out his sword in doing so.

"Jory," Gavin said slowly, "Calm down. You can make it through."

Duncan continued walking toward Jory, "There is no turning back."

"No!" Jory took a few more steps backwards, his back now was against the stone wall, "You ask too much! There is no glory in this!" He held out his sword, defending himself from Duncan coming any closer.

Duncan set aside the chalice and slowly drew out his own dagger. It took me a couple moments to realize what he was doing. As I tried taking a step closer to them to stop it, Gavin already had a grip on my arm. I turned back to him with pleading eyes, I couldn't let someone else die right now. He gave me an apologetic look, whispering, "Keira, please don't get involved." I looked back to the Jory and Duncan, only able to watch from the sidelines as I witnessed what was happening.

Jory gave a swing with his sword, but it was swiftly blocked by Duncan's dagger. In doing so, Duncan knocked Jory's sword out of his hand. Wasting no time, Duncan stepped forward and sank his dagger into the knight's torso. He twisted the dagger further into his body. "I am sorry, Jory." Duncan whispered as Jory took his last few breaths. Duncan pulled out the dagger and stepped away from his body, Duncan's face was filled with sadness. Jory fell to his knees, coughing up more blood. Devastated by the look on Jory's face, I turned myself away from the scene. I cringed as I heard Jory softly moan, followed by the loud thump as his body hit the ground.

I slowly looked back to his Jory's motionless body on the floor, laying in a pool of blood. Gavin came with me as I rushed over by his head. He helped me as I turned him on his back. I shuddered at the sight of lifeless face, and closed his eyelids as Gavin and I bowed our heads with respect. Gavin began whispering a prayer when I remembered what Jory had said earlier. "He served our father in Highever..." I mumbled as I looked at Jory apologetically. _Perhaps later I can deliver the news to his wife.._ Shortly after Gavin finished, we stood back up. Two more deaths. Would the dying stop here?

Duncan cleared his throat to gather our attention back to him, "The Joining is not yet complete. You two are called upon to submit yourself to the taint, for the greater good."

I looked to Gavin then back to Duncan, "Which one of us?"

"It does not matter. You must decide quickly."

"I will." Gavin stepped forward, ready to take the chalice from Duncan's hands. I grabbed his arm and pulled him back, "No, please don't go first." I looked at him with begging eyes, hoping he wouldn't go. I couldn't bear to watch if he was to fall as Daveth did before.

"What if we both die?" I blurted out. Gavin shook his head with disapproval, "You know that won't happen, Keira. At least one of us will survive."

I shook my head hastily, and exclaimed "No, we don't know that!" I turned to Duncan, glaring at him coldly, "You." I stepped forward to Duncan, locking my eyes with his, "You have to promise me. **Promise**, that if we don't make it, you have to tell Fergus what happened to our parents." He nodded, "Furthermore, Gavin is to take care of Carlin if I perish. If we both perish, then you must take care of Carlin. He's a good dog. I'm trusting him with you." He nodded yet again and I turned back to Gavin. "Please, let me go first."

He looked down at me, and I could see concern filled in his eyes, "Why? I just don't-"

"Please." I cut him off, "You're stronger than me, emotionally. I wouldn't handle it if you fall." He knows this. This gave him a good reason why I should go first.

I kept my eyes locked on his and he finally sighed with defeat, "Fine." He lowered himself down to eye level with me, and spoke in a quiet tone, "Maker watch over you. Be tough, okay sister?"

I nodded grimly, "I will. Don't worry about me." I reached up on my tip toes and wrapped my arms around my brother's neck. He sighed and wrapped his arms around me, returning my embrace. For what I knew, this could be my last embrace from my brother. I peered over my brother's shoulder to see Alistair. He looked at me with dispirited eyes, almost pleading. He was afraid we would die from the taint, just as Daveth did. He knew this was to come from the beginning, yet couldn't warn us of what we were about to go through.

I pulled away from my brother, and all I could see in his face was dispair. I turned to Duncan and closed my eyes for a moment. I let out a deep sigh and forced myself to take the cup from Duncan. I looked into the dark liquid and gulped. I swished the thick liquid around the cup, and looked around the room. Daveth was dead. Jory was dead. I could be next. However, Alistair and Duncan still lived. I had to live, as well. For my parents. For Fergus. For Oren, Oriana. For Nan. For Rory... For Gavin, especially for Gavin right now. I brought the chalice to my lips, and took in a gulp of the liquid.

I could feel the taint already burn within my mouth. I felt the chalice swiftly leave my hands, expecting that Duncan took it. I began to feel dizzy. I clutched my head as I began to hear blood-curdling sounds. It's as though the sounds were... Roars. Breathing was becoming difficult. It felt as though my throat was on fire as the blood slid down my throat I tried to stay strong, and to stay on my feet, though my muscles began to fail. The last thing I saw before me were Gavin and Alistair. Alistair had a horrified look on his face, was I truly dying?

Gavin's face did not share the same look as Alistair's. The sight of Gavin made me terrified and confused at the same time. He glanced at me, pain had struck his face. I didn't remember him taking a sip from the chalice yet. Regardless, he was bent over, head in his hands. I could hear him screaming in pain. He was suffering. Not mentally, but physically. What was happening to him?

As I collapsed to my knees, a voice began to ring in my head. Everything was slowly becoming dark. I could feel cool touch of the stone hit my face as my body fell to the floor. The voice I heard was faint, but I could barely make out what I heard.

_Oh to be a connected soul. Experiencing the other's feelings, mentally and physically. Feeling their emotions. Sharing dreams. Sensing thoughts. Am I speaking the truth? Why, maybe I am._


	8. Joined Vision

_AN: AHH! Sorry, it's been way to long since I updated. I haven't gotten the chance to write that much. Since volleyball started a couple weeks ago, practices have been keeping me away from updating. Also, school just started the other day, and that's been slowing me down a lot more too D: Hopefully I can update this weekend, since it's labor day weekend and I should have extra time to write :) Honestly, I haven't had much time at all to write on my stories, or the ones I'm co-writing (Sorry, Rowan!) But, I'm gonna try to write whenever I have spare time! :D Thank you guys so much for everything so far!_

_ Feedback appreciated! _

_I realized how much pointless babble I do before each chapter. I apologize ._

* * *

**Chapter 8. Joined Vision**

_GavinPOV_

It hit me like a bolt of lightning.

Before I even realized what was happening, it started. The pain was unreal. It was like my insides were twisting and turning, and I felt like I had an hammer to my skull. My throat burned and left a stinging feeling. Every part of my body was feeling the effects. Was this truly what the taint was capable of? Was this truly the taint's poison? Or was this pain all in my head? Never in my life have I ever experienced this level of pain. Anything that Duncan said would have never prepared me for this. But it all seems strange..

I hadn't even taken a sip of taint yet.

Immediately after Keira had taken a gulp, I could already see the taint starting to affect her. It quickly began to affect me too. Why was this? Surely my bad luck couldn't have translated to these extremes, yes? It all happened so quickly. The pain I had felt had subsided for the moment as she fell to the ground. Everything was still fresh in my mind..

Only moments ago, Duncan had taken the cup from her. She quickly reacted to it, just as Daveth had. However, something strange happened. As I was watching what was happening to her, I started to hear a sound. Like a roar. I can't explain it. It quickly began to ring in my ears. Out of nowhere, a migraine came. A really bad one, I should mention. This was followed by a strong burning sensation in my throat. Maker, I was beyond confused and scared by that point. At first I thought it was mind over matter, but the pain still persisted. I held my head in my hands, beginning to bend over, reacting to the pain. Keira and I managed to exchange glances. She looked horrified. Before she fell to the ground, her pupils had disappeared in her eyes, just as Daveth's did. After she fell, the pain had slowly exited my body. Though, the roaring still occurred in my mind, giving me a slight headache. What in Andraste's name just happened to me? A better question, what happened with Keira?

Now, I stand here, looking to Alistair and Duncan for answers as my sister lies on the floor. She couldn't have died. No, I knew she couldn't. I had a feeling, a sixth sense, that she lived. She **had** to live. I wasn't about to lose another family member. Not tonight. I turned to Duncan, speaking in almost a slurred voice. I'm guessing the roaring was causing me to not think straight. "Wh- What's happened?"

He sat the chalice down on the table briefly and bent down next to Keira's body. Please, please be okay. If anything were to happen to her, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. I would've let down Mother and Father. While growing up, my siblings and I always looked after one another. With Fergus not here, it's all up to me. When we left our home, I promised myself to look after Keira. I take full responsibility of her. I wouldn't even be able to face Fergus if anything were to happen to her.

Feeling worriedsome, I studied Duncan as he stood from Keira's body. She's alive. She has to be. Ending my anxious waiting, he quickly spoke. "She lives," he said, "She'll awaken soon enough." He then picked up the chalice and turned to me. "Now, it is your turn. You, Gavin, are called upon to submit yourself to the taint." Thank the Maker she's alive.

I furrowed my brows and locked eyes with Duncan. I still had another question to ask. "Duncan, don't pretend like it didn't happen." The look in his eyes changed slightly. I caught him off guard. "Why was I experiencing pain? I could feel it. I don't tend to act that way just for the Maker's entertainment." Besides, the Maker gets his laughs on my behalf on a daily basis already.

Duncan let out a heavy sigh, "I'm not too sure, Gavin." What? How could _he_ be not sure? He's been through this before. I quickly spun around to face Alistair, "Well, do you know?" He slowly shook his head. This was starting to frustrate me. They should know, shouldn't they? They were Grey Wardens after all. Then again, if they did know, they would have already informed me beforehand I think.

Duncan took a step toward me with the chalice now in his hand, "I do not know what occurred, Gavin. You shared the pain with your sister, it seems. However, we cannot dwell on it any longer," He extended the cup to me, "You must take this."

I sighed and grabbed the chalice from his hand. I looked into it, seeing the dark liquid before me. I braced myself as I brought the cup to my lips. I know what's to come. As soon as the vile liquid slid down my throat, the pain came back. This time, however, it was twice as bad as last time. I briefly remember Duncan taking my cup away from me as I clutched my head once again. The pain in my head was even more intense than last time. The constant ringing in my ears amplified. My throat burned, as did everything else. The thick residue from the liquid was stating to starve myself of air. I could feel the pain already affecting my whole body. Unlike last time, my vision began to blur together. I started to feel nauseous. My legs were beginning to give out beneath me. My muscles felt weakened as every second ticked by. I tried hanging on, staying strong. However, breathing was now nearly impossible. I collapsed to my knees, just as my sister had done earlier.

Everything was fading. The only thing I could see before me was black.

Stay strong. Stay strong. Stay strong.

I can't give up, not yet...

I've got to find the light.

Got to move.

Got to respond.

Got to.. Open my eyes. Open them wide..

My eyes immediately fluttered open. I quickly sat up in shock, expecting to find Duncan and the others. Something was not right.

Where am I?

I blinked in disbelief and looked at my surroundings. This doesn't seem to be anywhere near Ostagar.

The area around me was just a desolate, rocky terrain. All that there was before me were crumbles of rock, boulders, and debris. There was nothing else in sight. The air itself was musty, even with hints of death. The sky was strange as well. It appeared to be a weird yellow-green color. It creeped me out, that's for sure. Dark clouds came rolling in, and moved across the sky in a fast pace. Nothing here seemed like anything I've seen in Ferelden.

"Hello?" I called out. No answer. I waited a few moments, but no luck so far. How could I have end up here? All I remember was passing out after my Joining.. This wasn't the Fade, was it? I can see no spirits, no demons, nothing that would indicate this to be the Fade. Was this part of the Joining? Surely it couldn't be, right? Drinking that blood was horrible enough. It made things even worse I had to experience the pain **twice**.

I sighed and plopped down on a boulder. I propped my elbow on my knee and rested my cheek in my hand. So what happens now? Do I sit here and wait? I'm not patient enough for that._ Definitely_ not. Then again, I might not have a choice. The Maker himself seems to find ways to have people ignore me. I'll just wait a couple seconds.

Couple more seconds. Okay, now what?

Maybe a couple more.

And again.

What the Thedas. I'll give it another try.

I straightened up in my seat as I called out, "Hello? Anyone here?" I looked around yet again, "Keira? Alistair? Duncan?"

A few moments passed before I heard a faint voice in the distance.

"Gavin?"

I could recognize that voice from anywhere. I heard a couple steps coming toward my direction.

Keira appeared from behind a boulder, eyes lighting up as she saw me. She paced over to my side, happy to see me. She looked to be a little in a panic, and I wouldn't blame her. I stood up, giving her a quick hug. I grinned at my sister, speaking in a sarcastic tone, "Well for once I'm glad to see you."

She raised a brow and gave an impish smirk, "And surprisingly, I can say the same about you."

"Well.." I took a few steps around the rest of the area, raising my arms at our current surroundings. "Got any idea where we're at?"

I turned back to face Keira, only to see her shaking her head, "No. I'm almost positive I've been here longer than you, though."

I rubbed my eyes in frustration as I began to pace around. Why is it that we're here? _Where_ is here, anyway? Was this part of the Joining? The Joining. That's got to be it. There wasn't any other explanation.

"Do you think that-"

Suddenly, I was interrupted. The sound seemed so familiar.

Keira and I snapped our heads to the direction of the sound. I couldn't believe my eyes. Maker, I knew I was crazy, but this can't be right. No, this couldn't be right at all. The sound, the massive roar, echoed throughout the sky, becoming louder with each second. A dragon overpassed us above our heads, spewing fire from its mouth into the sky. A dragon? A.. _Dragon_? I must be dreaming. I have to be. But why does everything feel so real? I could feel the breeze of the wind as the dragon passed us. As the dragon blew fire, the heat traveled its way to me. Maker's sake, sweat was dripping from my forehead. It's all so real. Everything.

The dragon glided around, switching it's direction back toward us. We took cover behind some rocks as it overpassed us yet again. The creature then sat itself on a large boulder. Thankfully, it remained a good distance away from us. For now, that is. I peered over and I rubbed my eyes with disbelief as I studied the creature. We were face to face with this hideous, bony figure. It was massive, no doubt about that. Its scales were pitch black, with hints of red. I've read stories of dragons, but I never it would be like this. It frightened myself more than I thought it would.

I looked to Keira, who seemed to be panic striken, "What do we do now?" I asked.

She looked to me, shaking her head slightly, "We can't fight it, that's for sure."

No matter how much I didn't want to admit it, she was right. I hated to back down, but we have no weapons. If we were to attack, we would be dead for sure.

Keira and I gazed at the dragon again, only to see the dragon cry out at us. Its roars echoed throughout my ears.

With every exhale, the sounds only increased in volume. I gritted my teeth, trying to focus on the situation. What is it that we can do? We're weaponless, against a dragon. No matter what we would decide on, I only predicted it to end with defeat.

Again and again it cried out. The sounds continued to ring in my ears. As the creature cried out again, I let out a scream of pain. The roaring continued, only to pierce the air around us, further damaging my ears. I covered my ears and closed my eyes, trying to tune everything out. Somehow, it seemed to be working. I opened my eyes again, only to find that my vision was blurred.

Everything .. Started to fade..

Imagines began to blur together even more. I couldn't see. Suddenly, I could feel something. I felt a cool breeze as it grazed my hair. I could feel the wind as it caressed my face. It even seemed as though I could breathe in the clean air once again. That's funny.. It felt as though someone nudged my arm. Who was that?

I could hear a familiar voice, "I think he's waking up!

I tried to open my eyes. Once. Twice. Third time's the charm. With that, my eyes opened wide, and everything was clear again.

Three familiar heads were looking down at me: Keira, Alistair, and Duncan.

Keira nudged my arm a couple more times, "Gavin, are you alright?"

I groaned. I slowly made my way to sit up. Every move I made, I could feel my joints aching, full of stiffness. All of my limbs just felt heavy. I slowly looked at the three of them. "What.. Happened?" I put a hand to my head, trying to calm the pounding headache that followed my awakening.

Duncan cleared his throat, "You and Keira were dreaming. She had just woke up only moments ago." Keira nodded in agreement. She seemed to be almost in a panic. Did she really think I wouldn't wake up? No matter what the reason, I can't have her be in this worried state any longer.

Duncan began to explain further, "Such dreams come as you begin to sense the darkspawn."

"I had horrible dreams after my first joining." Alistair added reluctantly.

"Huh," I thought out loud, "Good to know. I'm always fond of being chased by a dragon." A smile began to dance at the corner of Keira's lips. Yeah. She's not worried anymore.

Duncan paid no attention to my joke. Figures. "Now, it is done." He offered a hand to help me up and I grasped onto it, "Welcome, brother. From this moment on, you are a Grey Warden."

As I stood, Alistair began to speak in a melancholy tone, "Two more deaths," he sighed, "In my Joining, only one of us died." He began to shake his head with distraught, as if he was recalling the memory. "But, it was... Horrible." His face had lightened up as he turned to Keira and I, "I'm glad that you both had made it through."

"So," Duncan began, "How do you two feel?"

"The pain was.. Intense." I couldn't put into words how it felt. "Intense" was closest word I could compare it to.

Duncan nodded, "Such as what it takes to become a Grey Warden."

Keira sighed and shook her head, "Honestly, I still can't believe you killed Ser Jory."

A small frown appeared on Duncan's face, "When he went for his blade, I had no choice. I had no pleasure in doing it."

Keira nodded with understanding. She and I both knew it was what Duncan had to do. I would imagine it's one of the responsibilites of being a Grey Warden. What if I had to kill an innocent during a Joining someday? How would I even handle that? Duncan managed through it so smoothly, almost like it was instinct. Even though I'm jinxing it when saying this, but I truly hope I don't have that choice to make someday.

"Here," in Alistair's hand was two pendants, "every new recruit receives one."

Keira and I each took a pendant from his hand. "We take some of the blood you drank and put it in a medallion." He let out a quiet sigh, "It's to... Remind us of those who didn't make it this far."

I looked at the medallion in my hand, watching the moonlight glimmer of its surface. It held a simple design, and was made in almost a locket fashion. Through the glass on the pendant was the blood. This deadly, vile blood had killed Daveth and Jory only but an hour ago. Looking at this, I know I wouldn't ever be able to forget those two. As Keira and I began to put on the necklace, Duncan began to speak.

"The King will be having a meeting in a couple hours. I suggest you two rest in the time being," Duncan turned to face Alistair, "I trust you can take them to your Grey Warden tent?"

Alistair nodded, speaking in a serious tone. "Yes, of course Duncan." It seems as though every time Duncan asks something of Alistair, the young Warden always does what he is told. No funny business. I wonder why that is? I haven't really seen Alistair loosen up around Duncan.

"In the mean time, if you need me, ask for me in Loghain's tent." Duncan nodded his head toward us slightly, "Until then." With that, he was off. Alistair turned to us, gesturing his hand to follow him. We proceeded to follow behind him, passing through everything in camp. It wasn't before long we made it to the Grey Warden's tents. Next to Duncan's, there were a couple smaller colorful tents. We entered one, where a few cots were set up and bedrolls laid out. There was a small table sitting in one corner, where some water basins were located. On the other corner, there was a longer table, stretching down the side of the tent. It seemed to have different herbs, potions, and bandages laid out. This must've been the tent the Wardens had used for resting.

As we walked in, Keira immediately plopped down onto one of the bedrolls, exhausted after everything we went through today. Alistair walked to the back of the tent to open a chest. He quickly pulled out some blankets, and tossed them to us. "Try to get as much rest as you can before the meeting." We both nodded back in response.

I sighed and sat down on one of the cots, staring into the recently acquired quilt blanket. "Alistair, do Wardens often share these.. Dreams?"

I looked up, only to see Keira whip her head at me with wide eyes. Did we really share this so called vision or dream? I hadn't been able to speak of it since I had awaken. Would it mean anything if we shared this dream? I had so many questions. We shared the pain, and this dream. Maybe it was a coincidence. It had to be, right? Besides, stranger things have happened in the Cousland family. Maker knows that.

Alistair pondered for a moment. He went over by one of the tables, preparing a mixture with the herbs and potions. As he turned and handed us each a bottle of mixture, he replied "I'm sure it's happened before, but not with me." He raised a brow at me, "Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

Alistair shrugged, "If you say so."

Keira began to swish around the liquid in the bottle, giving it a weird look, "What's this suppose to be, exactly?"

The young Warden chuckled, speaking in a sarcastic tone, "Oh you know, just a little treat we like to give to the new Grey Wardens."

I took a whiff of the liquid, cringing my nose as I inhaled the smell, "No, really. What is this?"

Alistair slumped and sighed in defeat, "It's a herbal mixture." He suddenly held his hands up in defense, "I'm not gonna lie, it's vile stuff. But It helps with the muscle aches," he said in a dry tone, "trust me."

I shrugged and chugged it all down. I could slowly start to feel the stiffness being lifted out of my limbs. I'm sure after we rested, it would take a full effect. "Thanks, Alistair." I said.

Alistair shook his head, "Don't mention it."

We watched as Keira began to bring the bottle to her lips. She chugged it down quickly, just as I had done. As the last drop left the bottle, she slammed the container on the ground, letting out a gasp of air. A couple moments of silence followed, only to be interrupted by a loud belch. She made a couple hard blinks before she looked up at Alistair with perplexed eyes, "You weren't kidding. I wasn't expecting it to be _that_ strong."

Luckily for me, I've drank some intense ales in the past. This little concoction was only a mild ale to my taste buds.

A smile formed at Alistair's lips as he chuckled, "Yes, I know. It caught me off guard when I drank it after _my_ Joining."

He walked to one of the other bedrolls, seating himself down. He stretched out his arms as he yawned, "Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm tired." He laid down on his back, "Duncan doesn't need me for awhile, so I might as well get some rest too." He emitted quietly.

I nodded and laid down on my cot. I let out a relieved sigh, "I think I'm going to take a well-deserved nap."

I heard Keira giggle, "I second that."

I could feel a satisfied smile form at my lips. Finally, I can rest. I know I'm going to soak in every minute of it. I'm positive I will need it before the battle, that's for sure.

* * *

_AN: There's chapter 8! With any luck, expect an update within a week. I can't guarantee it, but I'll try :) Feel free to drop a review! You have no idea how much it makes my day to get an email alert on my phone saying someone has reviewed or favorited :D Literally, I'm sitting there smiling like an idiot, looking at my phone for a couple minutes, and my friends think I'm crazy when I stare at my phone for a good couple minutes. Haha, and Thanks again for everything so far!_

_And as for their vision, I don't remember, but in the game, did Duncan call that a dream, or a vision? The scene in the game made it so short, that to me it didn't seem like a dream at all. So of course I had to extend it :D Anyway, just curious. My friend is currently borrowing the game._

_-Kat _


	9. Nightmare

_AN: Oh dear, it's been faaar too long! I'm sorry you guys, I thought I'd get something together a week after I updated last, but alas I did not. :( My schedule has been kicking my butt so far, you have noooo idea. On nights where I don't have games, my teachers give me a load of homework. Oh happy day. I've only had some moments to write, but not much. Now that the madness in September has passed, things should slow down. September is the busiest during first semester, everyone is getting everything together for homecoming. As fun as it is, there are times I want to pull my hair out when organizing different things, IT GETS SO CRAZY. I'm glad homecoming has passed though, it's super fun, but now I can chill :) Also, I am at the end of the five day weekend. YES. So that's given me awhile to write some stuff up, no school distractions! :) Thanks guys for everything so far still! And thanks for being patient with me. I have been failing so far when it comes to these regular updates._

_Until then, enjoy chapter 9 :D Reviews, feedback, criticism appreciated!_

* * *

_KeiraPOV_

**Chapter 9. Nightmare**

Screams. Cries. Fighting.

My eyes darted open to the different sounds coming from every direction. Where was I?

It all seems so familiar...

"Carlin?" I called out. No answer. "Gavin?" Nothing. Where was everyone?

My eyes scanned around the scene as I studied my surroundings. I stood within in the middle of a stone corridor. Torchlight flickered before my eyes as I stood in bewilderment. This place seems awfully familiar, like I've been here before. Mixed scents of sweat and coppery blood began to flood my nose. I slowly took steps along the hallway, lightly grazing the cold stone walls with shaky hands. I peeked my head into one of the corridor rooms, only to find it deserted. Clothes were scattered everything and toppled furniture lay on the floor, giving off a distressed feeling. As I continued down the hallway, I could hear swords clashing together, followed by cries of pain and suffering.

Suddenly, a figure came around the corner, an elf. He looked at me with panicked eyes, "My lady, they're everywhere!"

My lady? Wait a second.

I took in a deep breathe as I ran my fingers through my hair. This can't be. I'm in Highever?

I raised an eyebrow, "Who is.. They?"

The young elf's eyes widened as he spoke, "Howe's men!"

My jaw clenched as the word "Howe" registered through my mind. Rendon Howe. Hatred leaked into my thoughts, filling my head with mixed feelings. Howe betrayed us? Is this what he's caused?

The elf spun around in a panic, frantically pointing down the hall, "Run! They're coming this way!" The elf swiftly ran the other direction, not hesitating as he made his escape. I looked down the hallway, seeing a guard quickly making his way towards me. Instinctively, I reached behind my back, grabbing a hold of my sword and dagger.

Pulling the sword over my back, I quickly blocked one of guards as he slashed at me. He clumsily stumbled back, seeming to not except my reaction to his attack. I took this moment to my advantage. I swept my leg out in a wide motion, connecting to the guard's ankles. Just as I hoped, he fell flat on his back. As he hit the floor, I could hear the air escape roughly from his mouth. I extended my sword out to the man's throat, as I abruptly stomped a foot on top of his chest.

"Where is my family?" I spat out.

The man raised a brow at me as his mouth twisted into a sickening smile.

He kept a cool, even tone as he spoke. "With Rendon Howe, no doubt."

I snapped.

My body automatically responded, as if it was acting on its own. With one, swift motion, I drove my sword across the man's throat. Delivering the final blow, I was enraged. I quickly sheathed my sword and dagger while stepping away from the lifeless body beneath my feet. Wasting no time, I clenched my jaw and continued down the hall, stalking within the shadows.

Main hallway, I thought to myself. That's where everyone has to be.

I kept quiet, slipping my way around the guards. I managed to avoid the attention of any other guards, to my surprise. It wasn't before long and I was outside the main hall, eagerly anticipating what could be on the other side.

I slammed the door open to the main hall, only to see a dark figure standing in the middle of the room. Most of the room was in darkness, I could barely see a thing. The only light came from a flickering torches on the side of the room, illuminating a dark, almost eerie presence.

I took a couple steps toward the center of the room, "Who's there?"

I heard a sickening chuckle emit from a man.

Cautiously, I continued to take steps toward the sound.

The figure spun around, revealing a twisted, sick smile on the man's face. Rendon Howe.

"You..." My jaw clenched as I hissed, "Where is my family?"

His grin widened as he motioned his hand toward the corner of the room, "See for yourself."

I raised a brow at his statement, slowly turning my head to follow his directions.

Maker.

My hands quickly found their way to my mouth, covering it as I stared in horror at the scene before me. Father, Mother, Fergus, Gavin, Oriana, Oren, Carlin, and Rory... Dead. Instantaneously, tears began coursing down my cheeks as I began to sob. How could this happen?

"Why?... How could this..." I tripped over my tongue, unable to even speak a complete sentence! My thoughts are jumbled up, I can't even think. How could he do this? Why was I too late? _How_ could I be too late.

"And now, the Cousland line has ended."

I shifted my eyes over to Howe as he began to speak. A satisfied grin transformed his lips as he began to pull his sword from its sheath. His eyes glittered with satisfaction as he took a step towards me, almost in a greedy manner.

"Well, at least it will be after I've finished with you."

I took a couple steps back, giving myself time to reach for my sword and dagger. As my hands reached back, I only felt the touch of my studded leather armor. What? Checking again, there was nothing there. My weapons were gone!

Howe's laugh bellowed throughout the room as he shook his head at my foolishness. He brought his sword up above his head. I shielded myself with my arms, squeezing my eyes shut and anticipating the final blow. I gave up.

I failed.

I was too late.

I couldn't save them.

It's all my fault.

Any minute now, I'll be done for. I could almost imagine the pain from Howe's sword... Seconds quickly turned into what seemed like minutes.

. . .

That's odd. I should be dead by now, right? No pain, no slashing, no cuts, no anything. I should be chopped up, courtesy of Rendon Howe. Wait, I feel like I could hear someone. It was a soothing, warm voice. Did I miss something? Was that Howe?

"Keira? Are you there?"

Oh no, definitely not Howe. The voice does not match. This voice was nothing like Howe's nasally monstrosity. I know this voice. I know I've heard it before.

"Are you okay? Can you hear me, Keira?"

There it was again! Who was it? I recognize the voice so much, but I just can't think of its owner. Though speaking with concern at the moment, I know it's spoken with an upbeat tone before. The voice flowed like a river, and always spoke with quick wit. It was full of energy and mischief; it's as refreshing as a warm summer's breeze! Sweet to my ears, I always thought.

Who was it?

My eyes immediately fluttered open, looking up to see a familiar set of amber eyes under a wrinkled brow. He relaxed in posture for a moment, his features softening. Alistair let out a sigh of ease as he spook.

"Whew," he said, dramatically wiping his forehead with relief, "I was beginning to worry for a second there."

I sat up, hand clinging on to my forehead. "Wha?..." I shook my head with confusion as I turned my gaze to Alistair, "What happened now?"

"Oh you know," he drew out, "Grey Warden duties also include visions, as Duncan had mentioned." He gave a lop-sided smile as he softly chuckled, "No refunds, I'm afraid."

Wait, was that all really just a dream?

My brows furrowed, "What kind of visions again?"

"Well, just the frightening ones of arch demons and darkspawn." He began to speak in a lighter tone. "Although, some are just more _strange_ than frightening." Alistair mumbled, "Actually, strange and frightening may very well be the same thing." He quickly shuddered for a moment.

I giggled at his explanation. Part of me _really_ wants him to spill the beans on these dreams. Then again, perhaps I'd regret that later.

"Hmm," I bit my lip, "And if it's a dream that's just frightening? No darkspawn?"

A tiny smile crept unto the corner of his lips as he whispered, "Then that, my dear, is a _nightmare_. Not a Grey Warden vision."

"Oh."

Awkward silence.

"Oh, um. Did you have a nightmare, perhaps?" He slowly asked.

I quietly nodded.

"Erm, was it.. Bad?"

I nodded again.

He sighed, "You know, you can talk about it."

"Um," My throat cracked, "It was, about my family." I recall talking about my family to Jory back in the Wilds. I wondered if Alistair overheard any of it.

"Oh," He raised his eyebrows, "You were the Teryn's daughter, right?"

I silently nodded.

"Do you miss them?"

My heart dropped. I pulled my knees to my chest and looked down, away from Alistair's gaze. "Something along the lines of that."

I heard the cloth shuffle beneath us as Alistair scooted a little closer. He tilted his head toward me, "What was it about?"

"Something that happened to them quite recently." Before he could respond again, I continued. "You didn't hear what happened to my family, did you?" I glanced at Alistair.

He shook his head, eyebrows drawing together. "No, what happened?"

I looked away and let out a long exhale as I began to recall the events of that night. Everything began flashing in my memory. I could feel sudden thickness in my throat, clogging my voice. "They.. My family.." I cleared my throat, "They passed away."

I slowly shifted my eyes back to Alistair's, "They were killed, I should say." My voice cracked as I emitted the those last words. No matter what, it just doesn't seem real to me. "I would rather not want to go into details right now." I added quietly.

"Oh, I-I see." He awkwardly fumbled with his words, almost unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry to hear that." He looked at me with kind, intent eyes, speaking in a soothing tone, "If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask."

He quickly added, "I mean, you are my _sister_ now, in a way."

I felt a smile tug at my lips, "Thanks Alistair, that means a lot."

He grinned back, "You know me, a full time witty one-liner and part time listener." I felt my cheeks flush as I met his gaze, and instantly Alistair's grin broadened from ear to ear. Just then, I realized something. I think I'll be okay. I'm surrounded by more people than I thought, people that I know will always be there for me: The Grey Wardens. They're their own family, and now, they're my family too.

Well, besides the family I came here with, that is.

"Aw, that's cute you guys."

Speak of the devil. Exactly how long was he listening?

We turned our heads around behind us, seeing Gavin laying on his side, elbow propped. He chuckled and sat up on his cot.

An amused smile danced on his face as he winked, "Just so you know, I'm here for you too Keira."

My lips pressed into a straight line, "Thanks."

His green eyes sparkled, matching the wide grin on his face. Speaking in an upbeat tone, Gavin yelled in a buoyant voice, "Group hug!"

In a blink of an eye, he hopped down away from the cot, and wrapped his arms around the surprised Alistair and myself. I rolled my eyes and patted Gavin's back in return. Alistair happily chuckled and gladly returned the embrace as well.

In the middle of our little unexpected embrace , I saw the tent flap move in the corner of my eye. Just then, a giant bundle of fur interrupted the embrace, jumping in on top of us.

I'm sure we'll all smell like wet dog for the next week.

Gavin instantly freaked out, thinking that Carlin was about to attack him. Wimp. He quickly stood up and away from the group as the large canine mass joined in.

Carlin barked with excitement as he immediately began to lick my face. Of course I'm his first target. If only I could train him to ambush Gavin first.. Trying to respond in the middle of spitting out slobber, I laughed, "There you are, Carlin!" I scratched his head as he let out a happy bark.

Alistair cleared his throat as he stood up. He pointed at the tent flap, saying "At any rate, I think we should look for Duncan."

Gavin raised a brow and crossed his arms, "The meeting is suppose to be soon, yes?"

Alistair nodded, "You two will need to attend that."

Gavin and I exchanged glances and nodded.

"Should we hurry?" I asked.

Alistair raised his brows as a goofy smile crept on his face, "Trust me, if the King wants to see you two and Duncan, you shouldn't keep him waiting." He shrugged, "He might get mad, start to cry, you'll feel bad, and, well, it won't be pretty."

His lighthearted expression just pulled the whole thing together. I smirked, "Perhaps he could use his new-found rage on the darkspawn?" I could feel my cheeks flush yet again as Alistair's bemused smile widened.

He quirked an eyebrow as he tilted his head. I held my hands up in defense, "Okay, okay. I _suppose_ I'll go." I gave a quick wave and spun around to face the door.

Before I could cause my ears to blush, Gavin began gently pushing against my back, directing myself toward the door. Carlin began to follow us out as Gavin began to speak, "Let's go! Let's go!" He mumbled and let out a snort of laughter, "You two are making me feel like a third wheel."

Kudos to Gavin, I could feel the heat crawl up to my ears.

* * *

_Bahh! Like I said, sorry it took so long to update! I'll try to make an update sooner. Anyways, until then, leave me your thoughts! Reviews, favorites, etc are appreciated! Oh, and hey! Happy Columbus Day!_

_-Kat_


	10. A New Sense

_Hey guys! So here's my babble for this chapter, I'm gonna try to keep it short. I can't believe it's NOVEMBER. Oh this year is going too fast already. Volleyball flew by, and all those times I couldn't update, it was for good reason: We are officially undefeated champs for our conference. Yeah, that's right, 14-0! :D Overall season, we're 31-4, but that's still pretty good. Our post season was hectic, and unfortunately, we lost in sectionals :( We were off of our game, and when it truly came down to the wire, we just didn't get it. We just didn't play as good as we could. With that being said, this means that I will have more free time to update, now that volleyball has offically come to a close for the season.. Sorry it's been awhile to update, but I was a little down after our loss._

_Also, thanks for everything so far, yet again! MUCHOS GRACIAS. :) Anywho, I think that's the end of my little note for now. Feel free to leave feedback, questions, comments, concerns, or point out any missed typos. _

_Now, read!_

* * *

_Gavin POV_

**Chapter 10. A New Sense**

Everything just feels awkward.

Not awkward as in clumsy, No, there was no such thing as Gavin Cousland being that sort of awkward. Everything just feels... Odd. As I walked with Keira to the War Counsel's table, I kept having this strange feeling in my head. However, I'm feeling fantastic after resting, but now that I actually have my head straight, I am just now starting to notice the effects from the Joining. It's like I have a new sense. I can sense when certain people are around me. It's like a tingling feeling... I'm not sure what it is. I am sure that if I tried to describe this feeling to someone, they would deem me as an idiot.

It's hard to explain. In short, I can sense that Keira is right next to me, and I can sense that we are heading toward Duncan, and away from Alistair. I can also sense something else.. Another party is headed our way. Not just a couple, but a whole army. I could feel my eyes darting around, thinking I'll find an answer. Keira and I were walking back toward the old ruins, where the Joining took place.

As we neared the war table, I could see a heated discussion between King Cailan and that Loghain guy I met earlier.

Cailan slammed his fists down onto the war table, "Loghain, my decision is final. I will stand by the Grey Wardens in this assault." I don't think Cailan has noticed Keira and I.

"You risk too much, Cailan! The darkspawn horde is too dangerous for you to be playing hero on the front lines." Loghain spoke through his teeth with forced restraint.

The two continued the argue for a few minutes. The base of their argument revolved around the Orlesians. About a century ago, the Orlesian Empire conquered Ferelden. It was not until about 30 years ago that we gained back our independence under King Maric. My father had fought in that war for our freedom. Anyone who had fought against Orlais would have a bit of a grudge against them. Anyone, including Teryn Loghain Mac Tir.

Though our relationship with Orlais has been shaky in the past, King Cailan brought up a good point. He wished to wait for the Orlesian forces before going into the battle. Why not wait? We are at peaceful notions with the Orlesians now. Loghain snapped at this suggestion by the king. I know Loghain once fought against the Orlesians, but that's the thing of the past, yes? I shifted my head to Keira to try to read her thoughts on this. She had her arms crossed, shifting her weight from one leg to another. Glad I'm not the only one that's slightly bored by their tedious arguments. She let out a quiet sigh.

_Such a fascinating war meeting, this is._

I quietly scoffed as I leaned my head toward Keira's, "I'll say."

She whipped her head to face me, her brows furrowed for a moment as a surprised look appeared on her face. Nevertheless, she held an index finger against her lips, giving me the shut-up-and-be-quiet sign.

She shook her head. _When will he learn to keep his mouth shut?_

Wait a second. Am I crazy? Her lips remained shut. I quickly looked to Duncan and everyone else surrounding the table. Did she-? Did I just-? I could've sworn I heard the sound of her voice. I sighed to myself, Alistair packed something into that little concoction of his. 'It'll get you back to feeling normal' my arse.

I directed my attention back to Cailan. The king gave a heavy sigh as he concluded his argument with Loghain, "Then our current forces will have to suffice, won't they?" Loghain remained adamant. Cailan then turned his attention to us. "Duncan, are your men ready for battle?"

Duncan nodded, "They are, your majesty."

A satisfied smile tugged on the king's lips, "Wonderful!"

His smile widened as he caught the sight of Keira and I, "Ah, good to see you two again, Keira and Gavin," he nodded his head at the two of us, "I understand a congratulations are in order." Though Cailan was simply overjoyed at our return, Loghain's face said something different. His posture suddenly stiffened as he gave the two of us an incredulous stare. Did he not expect to see both of us make it through? Did he think that Daveth and Jory had been more worthy of becoming Grey Wardens? I couldn't help but feel some sort of strange aura from him. Sure, he is the Hero of River Dane. That doesn't stop me from feeling some sort of suspicion toward him.

Keira smiled sheepishly at the king's comments, "Thank you, your majesty."

I shrugged, "I don't really feel that special." Besides my newly acquired senses and my mind slowing turning to mush as I hear my sister's voice out of nowhere, I felt rather normal.

_You **would** say that, Gavin._

Cailan chuckled half-heartedly, "Oh, but you are! Every Grey Warden is needed now more than ever."

"Well, thank you, your majesty." I gave him a reassuring smile, "I'll do the best I can to aide you in the coming battle."

Loghain violently shook his head, "Your fascination with the glory and legends will be your undoing, Cailan." he spoke with more assertiveness, "We **must** attend to reality."

Waving his hand in dismissal, Cailan slowly made his way to the map filled table. "Fine. Speak your strategy. The Grey Wardens and I draw the darkspawn into charging our lines and then...?" He glided his hands over the map, then looked to Loghain for the rest.

"You will alert the tower to light the beacon, signaling my men to charge from cov-"

Cailan interrupted Loghain, eagerness filling in his voice, "To flank the darkspawn, I remember. This is the Tower of Ishal in the ruins, yes? Well who shall light this beacon?" He looked to all of us as he asked the question.

"I have a few men stationed there, it's not a dangerous task, but it is vital." Loghain said.

With an overconfident smile, Cailan turned to Duncan, "Then we should send our best. Send Alistair, Gavin, and Keira to make sure this task is done."

Keira's mouth dropped, _You're joking, right?_

Was he joking? I don't know whether I should be amused or humbled by his words. I'm sure he knows our father taught us well in skills of combat, that's why Duncan had recruited us in the first place. I thought our fighting skills would have served better in the battlefield, rather than scaling an old tower. On another note, we're new Grey Wardens. Doesn't he realize though that we became Grey Wardens just mere hours ago? He has dozens of other Wardens to pick from, why the new recruits? We can't surely be in his 'best' pick, right? It also surprised me that he not only chose Keira and I, but Alistair as well.

I crossed my arms, tilting my head to the side as I spoke "What makes you think we're the best, your Majesty?"

The king simply shrugged, "You are the son and daughter of the late Teryn Cousland, are you not?"

Loghain cleared his throat, and spoke before either of us could reply, "Cailan, a job such as this would only require a couple people, would it not?"

Cailan pursed his lips in thought and held an unreadable gaze. He was considering it, that's for sure. Loghain decided to take this opportunity to sway the king's decision. He took a few steps toward Cailan, upholding a confident posture as he spoke, "Think about it, taking all three would almost show favoritism." He waved his hands towards me and Keira, "These two are both the children of a high noble family. You don't want it to look like you're protecting them, do you?"

Duncan interjected, "Your majesty, Grey Wardens drop their titles the moment they become Grey Wardens."

Loghain let out an exaggerated sigh, "That may be true, but you can never forget what your background may be."

Cailan held his hands up in defense, "Alright, alright." He spoke in a thoughtful tone. That's something new. He turned to Keira and I with apologetic eyes, "I don't want the rest of the soldiers thinking of any favoritism." He let out a sigh, "I would still like Alistair to light the beacon, he will know when to light it. I hate to ask, but which one of you rather go into battle?"

Keira's posture wilted, "So, you're splitting us up?"

The king gave a reluctant nod. "I'm afraid so."

She frowned, "Why can't both of us go into battle?"

"I can't afford Alistair to go to the tower alone. Anything could happen, so it's best to send two to the tower."

Before Keira could have a chance to answer, I blurted out, "I'll go."

My sister gasped, "What?" _Damnit! He'll get himself killed!_

I shifted my head to face Keira, whispering, "I won't get myself killed." Ignoring the quizzical look on her face, I turned to face Cailan, "I'll go with you and Duncan into the battle. Keira and Alistair can light the beacon." I know I might regret it later, but it's me or her. It's no slight on her fighting ability, but I feel that I have an obligation to protect her. Mother would nag me to death if I let her march off into battle. No, it has to be this way.

I felt a hand gently touch my shoulder, "Are you sure, Gavin? There is no turning back." Duncan asked with concern.

I nodded. "Yes, Duncan. If that is okay with you, your majesty."

Cailan nodded with a smile, "Of course Gavin." His tone quickly changed from thoughtful to enthusiastic. His eyes sparkled with excitement, "It shall be glorious! Fighting against the darkspawn with you and Fergus will be brilliant, indeed."

Keira shook her head with annoyance, "Why, again can't I fight too?"

"It is important that the beacon is lit. You must make sure you and Alistair get it done." Duncan said.

Cailan chuckled with satisfaction, outstretching his arms while putting emphasis into his words, "You see? Glory for everyone!"

Keira scowled,_ All of you can just kiss my arse._

Loghain's voice rose. "No matter, I still think you rely on these wardens too much." The man was being stubborn about all of this. First he suggested splitting us up. Now, he still shows his dislike toward the wardens. He's acting somewhat suspicious, though he's doing a marvelous job of covering his motives. Perhaps it's nothing serious at all. Loghain might always be this way. Then again, that's what I thought before Howe betrayed my family.

No matter what Loghain seemed to say, Cailan would not be swayed by it. He stomped his foot down, "Enough of your conspiracy theories, Loghain. Grey Wardens battle the Blight, no matter where they're from."

Quickly changing the subject, and directing Cailan's attention elsewhere, Duncan brought up the subject of an archdemon.

Whatever it is, Loghain quickly disregarded it. "No dragon has been spotted in the Wilds."

"I'm sure you have it covered, yes Duncan?" Cailan spoke as though this dragon was no big deal.

Duncan hesitantly nodded, "Y-yes.. Your majesty."

"Well then," Loghain crossed his arms, "I think this plan will suffice. The Grey Wardens will light the beacon."

A gleam of confidence could be seen in Cailan's eye, "Thank you, Loghain. I cannot wait for that glorious moment! The Grey wardens battle besides the king of Ferelden to stem the tide of evil!"

_Maker forgive me. Our king is a daft, glory-seeking dimwit._

I softly chuckled as I heard Keira's voice yet again, looked over at her, and thought, _I couldn't agree more._ Keira slowly raised a brow at me, looking a bit bewildered. Surprisingly, I couldn't have been more satisfied by her reaction. All the pieces are coming together.

Loghain turned his back to all of us. Barely, I could hear him mumble in an emotionless voice, "Yes, cailan. A glorious moment for us all."

Duncan then instructed us to head back to camp, to tell Alistair of the decision made. He would meet with us shortly. We both nodded and understood his instructions. Keira and I walked back to camp in silence. Up ahead, Alistair was leaning against a ruined pillar with crossed arms, staring patiently into the fire. As we got closer to camp, Carlin's ears perked and he lifted his head. With a happy bark, he came up and greeted Keira like usual. Alistair looked over and greeted us, half grinning. "So, how did the meeting go?"

"Ugh," Keira mumbled, "Awful."

Alistair quirked an eyebrow, "And why was that?"

"Well," she crossed her arms and sighed, "We got stuck with the dirty job."

"Oooo," Alistair lowered his voice, "Sounds nasty. What exactly is this job?"

"We're lighting a beacon. Not battles for you and I."

"What?" Alistair exclaimed in a childish manner, "That's not fair!"

Keira's eyes bulged and eyebrows lifted, "I know, right?"

Standing between the two, I could feel the anger radiating from them. Thinking I could calm them down, I started to speak in a soothing tone. "Guys, I know how you feel, but-"

"Don't even," Keira interjected, "You're already going into battle."

"What?" Alistair crossed his arms, "_You're_ going into battle?" Awkward moment, that's a first for me. I'm the only one of us three going into battle.

Please get here soon, Duncan. "I-I volunteered."

Right as if on cue, I could hear the soft sound of footsteps heading towards us. I turned around to see Duncan coming to us. Thank the Maker. Duncan always seems to be the voice of reason. I'm sure Keira and Alistair will understand.. I hope.

Duncan crossed his arms. "Alistair, I'm sure you've heard the plan. You and Keira will go to the Tower of Ishal and ensure the beacon is lit." He motioned his hand to me, "Gavin will accompany me with the rest of the wardens to the battlefield."

Alistair frowned as he gave a slight shake of the head. "Why won't I be in the battle?"

Duncan pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "This is by the king's personal request, Alistair. If the beacon is not lit, Teyrn Loghain's men won't know when to charge."

The ex-templar scoffed as he crossed his arms, "So he needs two Grey Wardens standing up there holding the torch. Just in case, right?"

Keira took a small step forward, locking her eyes with Duncan's. "I agree with Alistair. We should be in the battle." She turned her head to glare at me, her eyes burned into me like the fire here at camp. She was mad, that's for sure. I sighed and hunched my shoulders, feeling that there was nothing I could do to level with her.

We all turned to face Duncan once again as he cleared his throat, "Now, now. Do not blame Gavin. The decision has already been made. If King Cailan wishes the Grey Wardens to ensure the beacon is lit, then Grey Wardens will be there." He kept his voice stern as he continued, "He only needed two to do the job. We must do whatever it takes to destroy the darkspawn, exciting or no."

I could hear the sigh escape from Alistair's lips as he rolled his eyes, "I get it, I get it." His voice became hardened, yet still managed to carry sarcasm with it. "Just so you know, if the king ever asks me to put on a dress and dance the Remigold, I'm drawing the line. Darkspawn or no."

A wry grin appeared on Keira's lips, "Hmm.. I think I'd like to see that." _And maybe something more._

"For you, maybe. But it has to be a pretty dress." A mischievous smile appeared on Alistair's lips, and put emphasis on his last words, "Now _you_ in a pretty dress would be just as, _distracting_." The two continued to gaze at each other, almost as if they were communicating with each other's eyes. This placed me in an awkward position, being that I stood between the two.

Oh wait, awkward will never again associate with Gavin Cousland.

To end this odd, slightly flirtatious conversation between them, I loudly cleared my throat. A look of realization came upon the two, and immediately snapping out of it, they straightened up to face our Warden Commander.

Duncan shook his head and heavily sighed, keeping his voice void of amusement. "The tower is on the other side of the gorge form the king's camp, the way we came when we arrvied. You'll need to cross the gorge and head through the gate and up to the tower entrance. From the top, you'll overlook the entire valley."

"When do we light the beacon?" Keira asked.

"We will signal you when the time is right. Alistair will know what to look for." Duncan said. To me, this did not answer her question much. I guess they'll leave this one to Alistair. Not sure if that's the wisest choice, however.

Keira pondered for a moment, seeming to search for any questions she might have. She looked up to Duncan, "What if the archdemon appears?"

Alistair snorted, "We soil our drawers, that's what."

Ignoring Alistair's comment completely, Duncan spoke in a calm and even tone. "If it does, leave it to us. I want no heroics from any of you."

Alistair cleared his throat as he asked a question as well. "Can we join the battle afterwards?"

Duncan shook his head. "Stay with the teryn's men and guard the tower. If you are needed, we will send word."

They both nodded.

Duncan began to speak. "Then Gavin and I must join the others. From here, you two are on your own. Remember, you are both Grey Wardens. I expect you to be worthy of that title."

Keira nodded, "We won't let you down, Duncan."

Duncan turned to me, "Are you ready?"

"Yes," I said, "Give me one moment. I'll meet you by the gates."

Duncan gave a quick nod, and before leaving, he was stopped by Alistair. "Wait, Duncan," he spoke entirely with sincerity, eyebrows drawing together, "Maker watch over you."

"May He watch over us all." Duncan then marched away from the group. I tried to make my goodbyes quick so that I may catch up.

Keira frowned, "You really are going, aren't you?"

I gave a jerky nod, "Afraid so." Keira looked down, avoiding eye contact with me. Trying to lighten the mood, I placed a hand on her shoulder, gently squeezing it. "Hey, come on now." I put on a fake smile as she slowly looked up, "It'll take a million darkspawn to put me down." I softly chuckled, "I'm hurt that you underestimate me."

A hesitant smile tugged at her lips, slowly turning radiant. "Get out of here." She said in a playful tone as she softly punched my shoulder. _Don't get yourself into much trouble._

I grinned, _Now you're asking for too much._

Alistair awkwardly cleared his throat, pointing over to the bridge. "Sorry, Keira, we should probably go soon."

Keira nodded, then quickly reached up to ruffle my hair, despite how much she knows that annoys me. With a cheerful tone, she exclaimed, "Be safe!"

I whipped my head from left to right, a habit of mine I picked up whenever she ruffles my hair in hopes of slightly fixing the short, shaggy mess on my head. I pointed at her and Alistair, "Right back at you guys." I called out to Alistair, teasingly giving him a menacing glare, "You better watch her."

He laughed, "Will do."

_See you on the other side,_ I thought.

Keira turned back and gave a quiet smile, _Right back at you. _With that, Alistair, Keira, and Carlin were off to the tower. A cool breeze played across my skin as I headed off to meet with Duncan. The smells of battle lingered in the air. The fighting could begin at a moment's notice. I can sense the darkspawn approaching. I can hear their group mind. Their monstrous calls, barbaric hisses, and their indescribable screeches echoed throughout my head. With every step I took, it became louder. They became one step closer.

Though the battle came near, part of me felt relief. A slow smile came to my lips as realization came upon me. I was not alone.

The darkspawn weren't the only beings with a group mind.

* * *

_Bah, again, sorry for the lack of updates. I should get into the swing of things soon. I want to update on my FMA story, and work on my co-written story, AND possibly think of a Fable 3 story. I'll figure something out. The only after school things I have going on now is intramurals and yearbook. Volleyball opened up a lot of free time. Anyways, hope that wasn't too confusing. Last minute, I decided to change a lot in this chapter. With the whole "group mind" thing, I was planning on adding that in the next few chapters, not exactly this one, however, I decided to change it. Anyways, feedback appreciated! Let me know if there's any mistakes, etc. Thanks you guys :)_

_-Kat_


	11. Tower of Ishal

_AN: Hey there! It actually didn't take me a month to update this time. Well, I don't have much to say, my life has been fairly uneventful as of late. The weeks for my school's Fall Musical and Thanksgiving break: Couple of the most relaxed weeks of the year. Oh I love Thanksgiving food so much! So I've actually been getting back into the habit of writing as much as I did in the summer, which is good! Buuuut, I'm just super happy that this shall be the last chapter in Ostagar! Huzzah! Oh, and this chapter will be in Keira's POV, so you're going to have to wait to see what happens to Gavin :D If I made it in Gavin's POV, you would already know what happened to Keira, so that's no fun!_

_Now, read!_

* * *

**Chapter 11. Tower of Ishal**

_KeiraPOV_

It was a simple task.

Go to the tower, ascend a couple floors, and light a beacon. In doing so, we would signal Loghain's men to charge the field and flank the darkspawn attacks. With his men, it can give a huge difference for the outcome of the fight. It could determine victory or defeat. It's a vital job, especially in this situation. However.. Why is it that this task seemed so unimportant? Perhaps I'm still upset with myself for not speaking up before Gavin had. I still can't believe I let him go like that. That left Alistair and I to carry out the job. Well, plus Carlin. Of all the Grey Wardens, we were the two not partaking in the battle. We were the two not fighting alongside our brothers and sisters. We were the two that were mostly out of harm's way. We were the two that are evading the darkspawn bulk, while others would be dying at the monsters' hands this very moment.

That part hurts the most.

Immediately after parting with Gavin, Alistair and I wasted no time with making our way to the bridge. We maneuvered our way throughout the camp, very well aware we had a deadline to light the beacon. Just before reaching the bridge, thunder and lightning crackled throughout the midnight sky. The war horns echoed in the air, but were soon stolen by the cries of warriors and monsters below us. Alistair, Carlin, and I slowed down as we made it to the bridge's entrance. When I stepped out of the archway and onto the bridge, I looked to my right to see the whole battlefield before me. We walked toward the middle of the bridge, and I leaned myself against the edge of the bridge, exhaling with surprise as I gazed at everything. The valley was larger than I could have expected. Darkspawn and humans were scattered out everywhere. To the south, I could faintly see creatures emerging from the forestry, surrounded by an eerie mist.

It was much too far to hardly see any details of the tiny figures that scattered the valley. One could only tell the difference between one of us, and one of them. No matter. I scanned everywhere, though knowing it would be near impossible, I searched for just two people.

Fergus and Gavin.

Ever since approaching Ostagar, I had not seen my dear older brother. So many things that I needed to tell him, so many things that I did not even wish to tell him, might go unsaid. I sighed. There was no way I would be able to recognize anyone out there.

I closed my eyes and focused on one thought. _Gavin?_

No answer.

Try again. _Can you hear me?_

After a few seconds passed, I took a step away from the ledge in defeat. I crossed my arms and let out an exaggerated sigh. It was almost impossible to even hear him if I tried. With this many darkspawn so close to us, it would be almost impossible to pick his voice out of everything else. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack. After giving up, I quickly turned to find Alistair, but instead noticed all the men manning the balista-catapult things along the edge of the bridge. I don't know why I found it so mesmerizing. They worked with precision, each working quickly in a little assembly line to launch a massive flaming ball of death to the darkspawn.

Now _that's_ a job.

In the middle of my gawking, I could strangely feel the air around me becoming hotter. The cool breeze that once grazed my face slowly faded. I peered over to the source of the heat to see a brilliant light. Two great balls of fire were arched in the air as they neared the bridge.

"Keira!"

Alistair's cry pierced through the surrounding noise. I turned my head to face him, surprised as I was pushed out of the way and tackled onto the ground. Alistair shielded me with his body from the incoming debris. Alistair completely covered my small frame, his elbows and knees supported him, giving me a little space to breathe. All I could see was his chest plate, which hovered about an inch above my face. Suddenly, Alistair gave a grunt as I heard a massive crash that collided into the stone of the bridge. Everything fell silent for a moment. Immediately, Alistair stood up as if nothing happened to him, as if nothing hit him. He only gave a pained groan as he quickly staggered to his feet.

I took a quick look at the result of the bridge. Parts of the stone had burnt to black, giving off a faint smell throughout the air. My eyes trailed from the bridge floor to the people who once held my interest just mere moments ago. The soldiers that once controlled the catapults now laid on the ground. Lifeless. Their armor did not protect them from the hit. My eyes widened as I caught a glimpse of a partially charred corpse. Perhaps the charcoaled smell was not from the bridge's stone after all.

I quickly looked away from the blackened corpse, looking up again at Alistair. He extended his hand out to me, which I graciously took. "Thank you, Alistair." He could handle a blow like that easily with his armor. However, I doubt my studded leather armor could stand a chance at all. I probably would have been dead if Alistair hadn't done something about it.

He moved his neck left and right, trying to relax it. He raised a brow, giving me a half grin, "Your brother said to watch over you, did he not?"

I could feel heat slowly crawling up my neck. It's because of that damned look, I swear. I smiled and exhaled with relief as I gave a quick nod. "Are you alright though?"

Clearing his throat, Alistair said, "Yes, my armor took most of the blow. What about you?"

I nodded, "Yes, I'm fine."

From the other side of the bridge, I could hear a bark. Alistair and I turned to the end of the bridge to see Carlin jumping around, eager to get going. I soft smiled pulled on my lips. Good, at least Carlin was out of the way. Alistair started making a few steps toward Carlin, "We should get going." I nodded and we began to make our way up the ramp, into the tower courtyard.

Right when we entered, we were approached by a couple tower guards and a mage. They stopped as they began to catch their breath. One of the tower guards looked to us with desperate eyes, "Y-you're Grey Wardens, right?" He spoke in between quick breaths, "The darkspawn came up through the lower chambers. We're overwhelmed!"

"Most of our men our dead!" The other guard added.

The mage that was with them cleared his throat, "The other mages that were suppose to stay behind are also dead."

"Let's stick together then!" I suggested, hoping to convince them, "It will be our best chance of survival."

The three nodded and straightened up. "Where are you two headed?" The mage asked.

"We need to get to the top to light the beacon." Alistair spoke with haste. The other three immediately understood, and without anymore words, we were off yet again. This should make things easier, right? We have five people, plus a hound. If each person can take ten darkspawn each, assuming there's about fifty darkspawn per floor.. And there's three floors..

Perhaps I'm over analyzing again.

We ran up the small set of stairs leading to the second part of the tower courtyard. Though the door was within our sights, a group of darkspawn quickly saw us. One of the tower guards immediately charged at one of the genlock darkspawn with his double-handed sword. The other guard, wielding a crossbow, picked out another genlock to target. In the distance, I spotted out a hurlock alpha a couple feet away from the door. In the middle of all the chaos and fighting, I swiftly sneaked in the shadows, hoping to deliver a crippling backstab. Just as I was about to close in, the hurlock whipped around, as if it planned this! In one swift movement, it swung a huge double-bladed axe at my head. I ducked, leaving the monster's axe to lodge itself in the trunk of the tree that stood behind me. Busying itself trying to bring its axe out, I took the advantage and went for the backstab.

Success.

Not wasting any time, I quickly moved on to a couple genlock and so on. Stubby, ugly creatures, they were. It seemed to take an eternity to hash our way through all the darkspawn, but we did it. I surveyed the terrace, seeing that all of my companions had made it through. Excellent. I focused my attention to the door.

All of us burst in, trying to fight our way through the floors with haste. Right away on the first floor, they had a little booby trap set up for us. It didn't seem like it at first, but once I took in the surroundings I noticed something was wrong. Charred bodies, smell of oil, and the fact that the darkspawn didn't waddle their little green arses over to us as soon as we entered the room. Alistair, being in the front of our group, was eager to get to the darkspawn. At first, he didn't believe that there was a trap, being that it didn't seem like there was an actual trap set up. I had to prove it. Slowly, I walked around, scanning the front part of the room. The entrance area was somewhat blockaded, except for one large area. I bent down near the floor and tried looking for some sort of sign. From behind me, I could feel Alistair and one of the shoulder's hovering over my shoulder, waiting. Yes! There it was! As I moved my head around, I saw a glimmer of light bounce off of some sort of string.

"Ha!" I raised my brows as I found the little sign of a trap. The vile little creatures were smart enough to create a tripwire. Not on my watch, they won't! With a satisfied grin, I pulled out my dagger and cut the string, making it useless.

I stood up and turned back to Alistair. With my hands on my hips, giving him a knowing smile, I spoke in a playful voice, "And you said there wasn't a trap set up."

"Psh" He reached for his sword, getting ready as the darkspawn slowly began to approach us, almost as if they realized I broke their trap. He responded in a playful tone as a half grin appeared on his lips, "Silly me. Guess I'm not good for anything."

My smile widened as I gave hints of sarcasm in my voice, "Nope. Not really."

"Ouch," his tone turned impish, recognizing my sarcasm tone, "Give me some warning next time you take a stab at my ego, please?"

As we had our weapons readied for the darkspawn, I could hear one of the soldiers behind me give a heavy sigh, "Could you two cut it out?" Someone was grumpy. If we're all heading to our potential deaths, we might as well crack our last jokes while doing it, right?

I targeted a genlock, heading in for a backstab as I muttered, "Spoil sport."

He snapped, "What was that?"

I couldn't help but grin while trying to speak in an innocent voice, "What was what?"

I heard nothing else from the man but a defeated groan.

Surprisingly, we made it through the rest of the first floor fairly quick. Even though we encountered a darkspawn emissary, or a darkspawn mage, we didn't have too much trouble. The next floor was not bad at all either. There were only a few hurlocks, while most of the darkspawn were those short, stubby genlocks. This floor even had a few ballistas! We definitely used this to our advantage. There were also a couple armor rooms that we had found some injury kits. We think one of the guards with us, the grumpy one, had somehow broken a finger. You know what they say: _The good Maker rewards graciously to those who deserve it. _Well, now I know he **definitely** won't approve of cracking jokes anymore. He's far too bitter over this little appendage. He literally had just stopped talking to me throughout the rest of the floors. I'm sure I wasn't that bad.

After taking care of that little ordeal, quickly made our way to the third floor. By far, this one seemed the most despicable. More corpses and horrid displays could be seen. The awful, coppery smell of blood was the strongest here yet. I looked over to my companions, and by the wrinkled look on their faces, I could tell they were thinking the same as I.

The mage pinched his nose to the smell, Alistair and I had to stifle a giggle or two as he spoke with a completely straight face, but in a nasally voice, "Let's just get through this you guys." I feel so awful. Our job is a matter of life and death, and yet I still find some humor in between little things. I should probably work on controlling that more. Oh, if only Gavin were here, we'd have a party. He wouldn't hesitate to crack a joke here and there.

We nodded at the mage, and quickly proceeded into the next room. This room looked like a kennel, as a number of cages were set up with mabaris inside them. The darkspawn came at us right away, charging at us down the hallway. Right away, we could tell that we might be overwhelmed and outnumbered.

In between breaths and clashing his sword with another, Alistair shouted out, "Keira!.. The lever on the.. Floor will release.. The hounds!"

After slashing at and finishing off another genlock, I nodded and quickly maneuvered my way through the blood-soaked room. My eyes found the lever, and upon pulling it, the doors to the cages immediately raised up. Carlin let out a brotherly howl as our new comrades joined our fight. About five or six mabaris had aided us using their teeth and claws to tear the monsters to shreds, ripping out throats and killing the darkspawn in gruesome ways.

As the floor had been cleared of any living darkspawn, one of the mabaris let out a howl. With that, he directed the other mabari hounds to the stairs, seeming like they planned on making their way to the battlefield. This only left us with Alistair, Carlin, the two guards, the mage, and myself by ourselves once again. I looked down at Carlin as I heard him let out a soft whine. He looked at the departing group with gleaming eyes; His tiny orbs were full of envy and desire. It took me a moment to realize it, but he longed to go with everyone else. He probably felt guilty not aiding the other mabaris. I could feel my lips curve into a small frown. I could relate to him. Just I wanted to join the battle to help out everyone, mainly Fergus and Gavin, I knew I could not. We had a job to do, and that was our first priority.

We didn't hesitate any longer as we paced up the stairs to the final floor. Thinking back, we probably used spent far too long in the tower. We would only have about an hour's time, and it feels as though we are soon to exceed that.

We slammed open the door to the top floor. After just taking one step into the room, we all immediately froze in our tracks. My jaw dropped. Nothing that Duncan could have said would have prepared myself for what I saw. I could hardly notice the beacon on the side of the room with a large, breathing blue mound in the center of the room. It was like something from the nightmares of my childhood. Large, hideously twisted horns sat upon its head while gruesome sharp teeth stuck out of its mouth. It was almost three times the size of any man, and had the power to take out a small army. My memory flashed back to Aldous. Fergus and I always had an odd interest in darkspawn creatures, while it terrified Gavin too much to even study it. "This was a rare sight on the battlefield," Aldous once said. "Bursting through enemy fortifications on the battlefield, these were said to be one of the more feared creatures on the battlefield."

It was knelt down, focusing his attention on a bent figure in his hand. I cringed as he snapped the corpse in his hand, letting out a crunching noise that pervaded the air. He used his sharpened nails to pick at the body, selecting certain parts to pop into his mouth. I could feel my face wrinkle up at the sight, along with the wave of nausea piling up in my stomach.

"What is that?" Whispered one of the guards.

One of my childhood fears. The sound of my heartbeat was roaring in my ears, realizing how dangerous of a situation this really is.

I let out a faint whisper,"..Ogre."

With that, the ogre's neck cracked as it whipped his head at us. It let out a screechy cry, letting his saliva rain all over the whole room. It stood up, unfolding its large limbs in front of us. Casually tossing its meal aside, it turned to fully face us. It let out another roar, bending his head to level with our body, then charging at us all its speed and strength. Not acting quick enough, we were knocked aside by its headbutt.

Thankfully, it had only stunned us for a moment before we quickly staggered back to our feet. The ogre had circled around the room and let out another roar as we stood to our feet. I swiftly got out my sword and dagger, now ready for the next time he would charge at us.

Next to me, Alistair and the others also readied their weapons. The ex-templar turned to the mage, speaking with haste, "Do you know any elemental magic?"

He nodded.

"Use any kind of fire spell you can and light the beacon?" He quickly motioned his hand to the fireplace that sat by the part of the wall. "Quickly! Before you focus any attention to the ogre!"

As the mage went off, we used the time to distract the ogre the best we could. We maneuvered around the room steadily between attacks. If we did not, the ogre could easily use his headbutting attack against us yet again. We took different positions around the beast, hoping to change its attention every minute. I took the posterior of the beast at all times, trying to deliver backstabs whenever possible. One of the guards stayed a safe distance, using his crossbow at the beast. Alistair and the second guard took the front, taking any chance of an attack at him. Meanwhile, Carlin kept circling around the beast, attempting to bite at his heel weakening his stance.

After the mage had lit the beacon, he quickly joined our fight, trying to use paralyzing spells on the ogre. Hardly any of his spells seemed to have a great effect. Alistair and the guard had tried to stun the ogre with bashing their shields; however, this too proved useless. Not even Carlin's dreaded howl, which had stunned many of the darkspawn of previous floors, hardly had a lasting effect on the ogre.

As though the beast was sick of playing games, he let out another roar, then swiped his hand across the ground, picking up one of the other guards. The guard struggled in its clutch. He let out a blood-curdling scream as the ogre tightened his grip. Distracted by the guard in his hand, Alistair and I took the moment to our advantage. We each took a slash at his right ankle, causing it to slightly limp. The ogre immediately let out a pain-filled cry. Obviously outraged, he lifted the guard into the air. _No, no, no, _I kept screaming in my head. In a quick motion, the guard was hurled at the other guard across the room. They collided with a loud grunt.

Both were motionless.

"Damnit!" Alistair exclaimed in a fit of rage.

The ogre continued to swipe at all of us, almost pleased with Alistair's reaction. In one motion, the monsters arm struck Alistair's sword right out of his hand, knocking it several feet away. Panicked, Alistair held his shield above his head as he scurried over to retrieve his weapon. In the meantime, the mage and I worked quickly to keep the ogre's attention away from Alistair. On an impulse, I stabbed my sword into the ogre's back. Letting out an outraged roar, it proceeded to turn around, until the mage interfered that is. Raising up his staff into the air, the mage unleashed arcane bolts at the ogre, moving its attention to him. Before the ogre could take a swipe at the mage, Carlin moved in, letting out a howl and ripping at its ankles yet again. The ogre's stance weakened even more. In a quick decision, I slid between the ogre's feet and swiftly stood up in front of it. With a simple motion, I moved my arms across my body, slashing the ogre's torso with my family sword and dagger.

As it let out yet another cry of pain, Alistair came running back to us, sword in hand. I stepped out of the way as Alistair took another slash at the beast. When it staggered for just a moment, Alistair leaped into the air, planting his sword deep into the ogre's chest. The large monster fell back. Alistair pulled out his sword, then lodged it in the creature's throat. As it let out a defeated sigh, its last breath, Alistair pulled his sword out for the final time. He jumped off the large lifeless mound on the floor, letting out a sigh of relief.

He didn't even notice the fact that the mage and I gawked at him for the longest time. I opened my mouth, half expecting words of praise to come pouring, but for once the tip of my tongue was empty. Finally, the ogre lay dead. Reluctantly, I looked over to the end of the room, reminding myself we lost two of our companions in this. They are in the Maker's hands now.

I looked at the fireplace to watch the flames flicker before myself. Teryn Loghain and his men had most likely took the field by now.

I peacefully closed my eyes, sighing to myself with relief..

_I'm sorry, Keira.. Morrigan better be right._

Gavin? I whipped my head toward the window on the other side of the room. It surveyed most of the valley, my thoughts immediately went to Gavin. Was he still fighting out there? Is he okay? What of Fergus? Is something wrong? Are they safe? More importantly, why did he mention Morrigan? We hadn't encountered her since we went to the Wilds, and this battle doesn't seem like something she'd involve herself into willingly. So many questions jumbled around in my mind. We've done our job, we lit the beacon. There shouldn't be any harm in joining everyone else in the valley. I _have_ to go.

"Keira."

Alistair called out my name, grabbing my attention. He raised his brows and motioned his head toward the door. It seems as though he was thinking the same exact thing. Without anymore words spoken, I nodded and we turned to the door.

As soon as we took a couple steps, I sensed it. I froze in my tracks. My Grey Warden senses.. Tingled?

A horde of darkspawn were coming closer. In the tower. Advancing up the stairs. Coming toward.. Us. Alistair's muscles had stiffened, he realized the same thing. What do we do? What do we do? We're pretty much trapped. Freaking out, I turned to Alistair, trying to communicate. We didn't have much time before the darkspawn would come to our door. Maker, I could hardly put a complete sentence together.

"Alistair! Door! The barricade!" I flailed my arms to the other side of the room, "Beams of wood! D-door!" I had noticed earlier that these small beams sat on the other side of the room. My guess is that they put it up here for storage, probably using it for construction with making balistas.

By some miracle, I think Alistair understood what I said. Without wasting any time, I turned to our other companion, the mage. "Door? Spells on door? Keep them out?"

He quirked an eyebrow. I think he started to underestimate my ability as a Grey Warden.

After a second, I realized he could not sense the darkspawn. I raised my eyebrows, then brought my hands up in the air, illustrating my point. "DARKSPAWN!" I yelled in a panic voice, "A horde is coming up here!"

Right away, as if he had an "Ah, I see" moment, he quickly grabbed the staff from his back and headed to the door. Then, following Alistair, I quickly went to the other side of the room to help him with those beams of wood. Each is probably about twenty-ish pounds. With a quick estimation, there seems to be maybe thirty pieces of wood stacked on this room. If it took us 30 seconds to bring it to the door.. Maybe we could get about..

Wait, no time to over analyze.

Putting my thoughts aside, I grabbed one end of the beam, while Alistair had the other. After only taking a few paces, a loud bang was heard from the door. One bang turned into two, then three, and soon we realized they were all piling against the door. It was only a matter of seconds before they'd come crashing in. Alistair and I quickly waddled over and placed the beam in front of the door, then went to grab another one.

"How's that spell holding up there, mage?" Alistair asked in an even, steady voice. Well, at least he could actually carry out a complete sentence, unlike _this_ girl.

The mage sighed in response, "My arcane shield isn't strong enough with all the darkspawn pushing onto the door." He turned his head to us, showing a defeated look in his eyes, "I'm not sure how much longer it could hold."

"Andraste's ass." I muttered to myself. Why is it that we get stuck in this situation? Trap ourselves in here with two dead companions and a large ogre corpse with no conventional way out, or fight our way through even more darkspawn, possibly getting ourselves killed. These ones were stronger than all the ones we had just fought. I could sense it. We wouldn't do any good to Duncan or the others by running past them and leading them all to the battlefield. No, this was occupying the darkspawn from going out there. We might as well distract them a little longer.

Just as Alistair and I picked up the next wooden beam, the door slammed against the wall. Darkspawn began pouring in. They let out hideous howls of hatred as they charged at us and quickly overwhelmed mage. I tried to act quickly, reaching for my sword and dagger. Too many were already pouring in. At this rate, Alistair, Carlin, and I were already overwhelmed.

In a split second, a shot of pain stinged my shoulder. Between shuddering breaths, my shaky hands found fletching sticking out of my body. I relived the pain as my fingers caressed part of the arrow. Deep red liquid stained my fingers. My own blood. Could this be really happening? I tried looking around the room. I caught a glimpse of Alistair's face. He was pacing toward me, holding onto his shoulder. Had he been hit too? I could his movement from his lips, but I couldn't register anything he was saying.I looked around once again, trying to find Carlin. I could only see that everything was slowing blurring, distorted images of darkspawn flooded the room. My eyes squeezed shut as I felt another sting of pain in my body. I fell to my knees, feeling the energy being drained from my body.

_I'm sorry, Gavin._

Everything was black.

* * *

_Random thought, the first time I played through Ostagar, I had no idea that if you stood on the bridge for a little bit, you would be hit by a flaming rock. But hey, you survive it when none of the other soldiers around you do! Hooray Bioware for making our characters semi-invincible over the NPCs! Anyways, I might edit this chapter later on. For whatever was on the floors, I might have gotten them mixed up. Usually I play through part of the game that the chapter is about, but I didn't around to doing that._

_Hope you guys haven't had too much trouble with your stories; I usually go through and write a chunk of mine when I upload the document, then when the website was having problems about a week ago I lost most of the stuff I was working on at the time when I hit save D: But on a lighter note...__ Black Friday was today! Woot! I got up super early to go shopping with some friends. It was surprisingly fun, even though it messed up my sleeping pattern. Ha, one of my friends, Jack, even stood in line a couple hours for a laptop. Crazy!_

_Anyways, thanks for any of the feedback you guys gave me yet again._

_Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!... And a fruitful (and safe) Black Friday._

_-Kat_


	12. Desertion

_AN: Hey guys! Hope you all had a good Holiday season! Ahh I can't believe it's January already! This year has really flown by. So thank you guys for your feedback! Thanks to all of you reviewers, favoriters, alerters, and even you sneaky little lurkers out there :) I'm glad that you guys are still patient enough with me as I haven't been updating frequently since school started up. Go ahead, rip me to shreds, because I haven't updated since Thanksgiving! I was overwhelmed with projects in December, plus a huge term paper set me back. During our school's super short Christmas break, my teachers decided to assign 4 projects, noooot good. I didn't even have time to procrastinate._

_So, because I love you all, I hope to show my love by not studying for my finals (for now) and just write. Imma procrastinate and study later. Mwuaha_

_Feedback appreciated!_

* * *

_GavinPOV_

**Chapter 12. Desertion**

"'Tis not wise to be slow when maneuvering around the horde, yes?"

I let out a long sigh as the taunting voice, dripping with sarcasm, graced my ears. I was starting to fall behind. Following the faint light ahead, I quickly shuffled my feet to catch up with the figure in front of me. A magic orange glow of light, held in the hands of the woman in front of me, flickered and danced across her skin. The moonlight hid behind the rolling clouds, making it difficult to see much of anything. It's not like it mattered, anyway.

With that little glow of light held in the woman's hand, I saw the same thing I have been seeing for the past couple miles. The awful scenery caused my eyes to wander back down to my guide's behind several times, much to her annoyance. Rotting logs laid out in our path, resting between underbrush and surrounding trees that stretched high into the black sky. A fallen bird's nest laid upon the ground, soon to be tainted by the darkspawn, like everything else in this forest. Twisted, distorted tree branches reached out toward us as the wind wailed around us. Plants and branches continued to snatch at our clothing and armor, creating rustling noises around us. My nose wrinkled as the wind carried the faint smell of blood.

I could only guess where the source of the blood was.

My thoughts drifted back to Ostagar.

Just over an hour ago, I was fighting with everyone else. I remember how fast my heart pounded in my chest as I stood with everyone before charging. Maker, my palms clammed up by the time I made my way to the battlefield. I stood amongst the rest of the Grey Wardens, amongst strangers and my new brothers and sisters at the same time. It was a strange feeling. I never met them, yet we all shared the taint, something that nobody but us could relate to. I trusted that they had my back, even though I hadn't met anyone here. Duncan and I departed ways as we went into our designated groups. He stayed at the King's side. The smell of chantry scents filled the air as the Reverend Mother slowly walked through the soldiers, humming chants and hymns of safety and protection.

I only wish these prayers would have worked.

It was right then when I realized how serious this battle was. It was not a little skirmish, in which we would have little casualties. The tide could sway either way. Quickly, something popped into my mind. Fergus. What if he was nearby? I whipped my head around, scanning the faces of the warriors that stood next to the wardens. Nothing. I sighed with defeat. There was no telling exactly where Fergus could be in this army. Little does he know that his younger brother would be fighting among him, while his sister would not be too far off.

I thought back to Keira, trying to search for her thoughts. I asked in my mind if she could hear me. No response. I gave a disheartened shrug, giving up on trying to find my kin. It became difficult with ever second as the darkspawn horde continued to march our way.

I remember how the thunder roared throughout the sky, and the valley was soon drenched with rain. A cool drop of rain grazed my cheek. I couldn't help but thinking at the time that perhaps... The Maker began to shed his own tears onto the valley.

Or perhaps he was pissing on all of us. I mean, I was there, was I not?

The innocent sounds of the pitter and patter of the water against our armor almost drowned out the King's commands. He signaled the archers, then the dogs, the lastly, the rest of us. War cries echoed throughout the valley as we charged toward the menacing monsters ahead of us.

The first few darkspawn I slayed with ease. The majority of the darkspawn was genlock and hurlocks. Several darkspawn mages seemed to be scattered around, along with alpha hurlocks. Most of these darkspawn I was already familiar with.

No problem.

Then, my luck ran short. Above the rest of the darkspawn, I saw it. An ogre. Soon I could see two, then three. My posture wilted for a moment as those creatures were present in my sight. Fergus used to tease me with them all the time, taunting me during our childhood fights from long ago. If I didn't give him back his toy, they will come from the ground, he would say, then destroy our whole castle and eat everyone in sight. He and Keira would take interest into the creatures of "myth" and old lore, while I refused to learn much about them. Now, I'm fighting blind against a menacing enemy.

I did what I could to avoid the ogres as much as possible, settling with the other darkspawn. By the edge of the woods, I noticed something strange out of the corner of my eye.

I thought I was crazy.

It was a dog. Not a mabari, just a normal generic dog. It was near the edge of the forest, sitting between a couple trees. It was strange, because I felt like I've seen it before. It turned its head and stared right back at me, almost like it was telling me something. It lifted its head and howled into the sky, but its cry was partially drowned out with the sounds of battle.

It wasn't until a darkspawn cried out and swung at my head that I turned my attention away from the dog. It was another hurlock, swinging away with a large axe. I waited until it swung at me again, then catching him off balance, I pushed my shield at him, knocking him to the ground. With one swift movement of my sword to its head, it was no more. I turned my head yet again toward the edge of the woods. I had blinked a couple times in disbelief. I couldn't believe my eyes.

It was no longer a dog. I remember vividly what I had seen. The mage from the wilds stood there.

Morrigan.

What confused me even more was that she began to motion her hands towards herself. I quirked an eyebrow, pointing to myself while mouthing the word "Me?"

She nodded, and I don't remember for sure, but I believe she mouthed back "Quickly."

I moved blindly across the battlefield, eyes fixated on her. "Why was she here?" I wondered. I knew she did not seem like the type to involve herself in the battle. I doubted any of the Chasind would involve themselves. When I arrived to the edge of the battlefield, I quickly dragged her with me behind a tree, to remain unseen by the darkspawn and any other soldiers. The conversation was short, but I remember the gist of it.

She remained unphased as I began throwing questions at her, asking why she's here, or if she's up to something. She kept it short, saying that I must come with her immediately. She was asking me to quit the field. I thought she was crazy, and I snapped back at her for it. She kept a calm composure, but her words had a bitter edge to them. She was becoming frustrated by my refusal to leave the valley, mumbling something about how Mother said this would be easier. I cooled down after a few minutes and told her to tell me why I should leave. At the time I had no intentional plan on leaving, no matter what she would tell me.

I was not planning on abandoning my duty here.

A Cousland would find that unacceptable.

Wasting no time, she explained the situation before me. Her mother said something would happen. I cannot know much about it yet. She apparently had a feeling that something in this battle would go wrong. Grey Wardens would be in trouble. They kept a close eye on us after we left their home earlier that day. Her mother found out that Keira and Alistair would be heading up the tower, and that they would be trapping themselves once they reached the top.

Morrigan was sent here to somehow retrieve me from the battlefield, and convince me to leaving with her. Her mother wishes to save us from death, but Morrigan herself did not know why she wanted us specifically. Perhaps it had something to do with our encounter earlier, I thought. She said Keira and Alistair would be in trouble. I did not believe her at first. She spent a minute or two trying to validate her story and saying I need to come with her.

Then, I heard it. I remember the exact words that filled my mind.

_I'm sorry, Gavin._

It was Keira. She sounded defeated. I began to worry. I tried responding back, but I wasn't getting anything at all. If it was not for Keira's voice in my head, I would have stayed on the field. Hearing her in distress, I believed Morrigan's story. With hesitation and slow steps, I followed her. In the end, I left Ostagar.

I deserted.

This is leads me to where I am now. We have been walking for about an hour through the forest now, though it seems much longer than that. I'm still having trouble processing through my mind what I just did. Nobody in the army is allowed to desert. Just earlier today, Keira told me how she came across a soldier convicted of desertion. He was to be hanged.

Over and over again, I kept replaying the scene in my head. Finding Morrigan, leaving the field. Just like that. What will people think of me? Everyone will look at the Cousland name with shame. My shoulders hunched as I sighed quietly to myself. What happened to the rest of men? What if we lost? If Morrigan said the Grey Wardens were in trouble, does that mean the whole army was?...

"Ah, here we are."

Morrigan's voice broke myself out of my thoughts, and I realized we came to a stop.

The heavy clouds were no longer present in the sky, and the moonlight illuminated the scene before us. We walked into a familiar clearing. The smell of blood was no longer present, but that awful smell of stagnant water quickly flooded into my nose and clung to every inch of my skin. Another familiar object appeared in before us: a small hut. She guided me back to her home. I looked around the area quickly, but found no signs of Alistair and Keira. If her mother planned on saving us, they should be here now too.

I walked over to the hut's door with heavy steps, and wrapped my fingers around the handle. It was locked.

"Mother will not allow you go inside just yet."

I spun around to face Morrigan. "Your mother is here now?"

She simply nodded. "And so is your kin."

I took a couple slow steps toward her, crossing my arms, "Inside?" I said, lifting a brow while nodding my head towards the door.

She nodded, "As well as her mutt," she spoke in a subdued tone, "Oh, and I believe your friend from earlier is there also."

"You mean, Alistair?"

"If you mean the bumbling fool of a templar, then yes, that was the name." I silently chuckled. She still spoke with sarcasm and eloquence as if she was bright with energy, though her heavy lids and drifting focus told a different story.

I was also starting to feel the effects of fatigue. I sighed as I ran my fingers through my hair, "Can you explain what all is going on?"

She slowly crossed her arms and turned around to face the murky swamp that sat in front of her home. A few moments of heavy silence passed. Only the calm sound of reeds and cattails bristling in the breeze could be heard. The peaceful feeling paled in comparison to the events that occurred at Ostagar.

"I..." She let out a defeated sigh. "'Tis not for me to explain."

I walked to her, gently placing my hand on her shoulder. I began to speak with haste, "Why not? I followed you here. You said you would explain everything in detail." No matter how exhausted I was, I was beginning to become frustrated. I deserted. I quit the field. I don't even know how the battle ended up. If it was all for a waste, my conscience wouldn't handle it. Maker's breath, I probably wouldn't be able to handle it either way.

She replied with a monotone voice, her eyes continuing to stare into the swamp, "Mother will explain everything. Like I mentioned earlier, I myself do not know her plan."

My hand left her shoulder and hung at my side with defeat. My voice was strained, "What _do_ you know?"

"Everything that I told you earlier. She told me to fetch you from the battlefield," Morrigan sighed, "and that she needed to go fetch the your companions as the Grey Wardens would be in trouble."

I quirked a brow, "They were sent to the top of the tower.." I scoffed and spoke with a hint of sarcasm, "She would have had to turn into a bird to retrieve them!" Morrigan's expression stayed the same. I raised a brow, "Which was not the case," I awkwardly paused, "...Right?"

She quietly smirked to herself and shook her head, "Twas the case indeed."

I pressed my mouth into a straight line, "Right..."

She chuckled, "If you do not believe it, you could ask Mother yourself."

I crossed my arms, "It doesn't look like that door will be opening anytime soon."

"Do not speak so soon."

A creaking noise could be heard behind us, I turned around to see Morrigan's mother standing in the door frame. From behind her, Carlin cautiously walked out, sniffing the surroundings of the swamp. I could only catch a glimpse of two bodies laying in a bad before she closed the door behind her.

She approached us with a twisting smile, "Ah, it looks like you fetched him with no difficulties, girl." Morrigan's eyes rolled as her mother turned to me with a chuckle, "Well, well. We meet once again, lad."

She seemed a bit too jovial. I raised a brow, narrowing my eyes at the woman, "Why have you taken so much interest in us?"

"Now, one would think to expect a little gratitude, being that we saved your lives." She seemed unphased, only raising a brow back at me.

She had a point. If something bad was happening to the Grey Wardens, she just saved my arse. I cleared my throat and raised my hands in defense, "But I am grateful to you. Truly."

"Hm." She muttered something to herself, but I failed to hear what was said.

Morrigan took a deep breath beside me, "Mother," she spoke slowly, "'Tis only fair that you give somewhat of an explanation." She mumbled with a grouchy tone, "For the both of us."

The old woman cackled, "What was the saying now? Curiosity killed the bird? The cat? Oh, perhaps it's both!"

"Mother..." Morrigan said as she crossed her arms, drawing out the word.

"Now," her mother turned back to me, "Would you prefer to know this when your sister and friend are conscience, or not?"

I sighed, "It's not like it will change between now and then."

"Ah, how true! There is no changing the facts, only avoiding it." She quickly cleared her throat, beginning to speak with a steady voice, "Now, try not to be alarmed.. Though you will not like what you are about to hear. The darkspawn had conquered Ostagar. Your sister and friend had made it to the top of the tower, and lit your beacon in time. The person that was suppose to charge after the signal, however, quit the field. Quickly afterwards, you became outnumbered. Your king has perished along with the other soldiers, Grey Wardens, or whoever else occupied the field. Now, we cannot fight in this Blight without any Grey Wardens. By saving you, we have three left. That is all Fereldan needs at the moment. Morrigan retrieved you just in time."

I shuffled back a step of two as I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. I turned my eyes away from her, running my fingers through my hair with a bewildered feeling. Duncan.. Dead? King Cailan too? It cannot be... What about Fergus? No, he couldn't..

I opened my mouth, almost afraid to speak, fearing to show vulnerability through a shaky voice. I took a deep breath, taking everything in. My eyes remained glued to the ground as I only uttered one question, "What of any survivors?"

There was a pause. Her mother's voice muttered with hesitation, "There might have been a few stragglers, though 'tis doubtful they made their way past the darkspawn."

"I see."

Doubtful? Perhaps, hopefully, Fergus is out there somewhere. If he were to make it past the darkspawn, there could be a chance. If he did not even make it back from scouting in time, there could still be a chance. Only Maker would know. I swallowed a hard lump in my throat, directing my gaze back to Morrigan's mother.

"So, any ideas as to when I can share this with Keira?"

"Wait until morning. Before then, I suggest you do not disturb her nor your other friend. Their injuries proved to be somewhat severe."

I let out a long sigh, "All right. Fair enough."

"You can rest inside if you like, or out here," she let out a laugh,"whichever one prefers. The darkspawn will not sense us for quite a while." She turned around and proceeded back to the door. She froze in her steps for a moment and called out over her shoulder, "I will be tending to their wounds once again. If you come in, do not cause disturbance."

I gave a silent nod her way, then she disappeared back into the hut. I turned to Morrigan, wondering why she was so silent for the past several minutes. "So, what will you do now?"

"I shall rest inside. Twas a long day, and I do not wish to put up with anything else for the night." Morrigan's voice was low. Her heavy lids seemed as though they would snap shut at any moment. Everyone's had a long day, and hers was probably no different.

I nodded, a tiny smile curled at the edge of my lips, "Sweet dreams then, Morrigan."

She returned with a smirk, "I hope your dreams are sweet as well, Gavin."

We shared each others' gaze for a few more moments before she turned and headed into the hut. I looked back to the swamp, and sat down on the ground, leaning back on my hands. I heard a bark behind me, I almost forgot that Carlin came outside earlier. He slowly approached me by my side and let out a soft whine. I raised a hand and cautiously brought it to his head, gently scratching it. The irrational fear of having my hand bite off slowly melted away.

"You worried about Keira, I'm guessing?"

He let out a low whine.

"Me too." I let out a chuckle, drizzling sarcasm onto my words, "At least I'm okay though, right?"

There was a pause for a moment, followed by a loud snort that emitted from Carlin. It's like he actually knows what you're saying! I always wondered if they could understand. 'Marbaris a smart enough to not speak', they would always say. Then again, that always seemed like a silly saying anyway.

I lightly scoffed, "You can't understand what I'm saying anyway, it doesn't matter."

I jumped and pulled my hand back as he immediately started to growl, showing his teeth at me in the process. Damnit, I always tend to say the wrong things!

Holding my hands up in defense, I stated, "I was kidding! Just kidding!" After a few nervous laughs on my part, Carlin slowly started to calm down. He let out another snort as he laid down beside me. I brought my legs to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. Yeah, putting myself in a slight fetal position is showing the dog who's boss. I rested my chin on my knees and took my gaze back out to the murky swamp. My limbs felt too heavy to get up. Might as well stay outside just a bit longer, right?

The scummy water was dull beneath the moonlight. The air still smelled of awful stagnant water, mixed with dirt and now even my own sweat. Feeling hot, I removed the torso part of my plated armor, exposing a loose tunic to nature's cool breeze. Frogs croaked, followed by an occasional owl hoot, as if the animals were working together in creating calm, peaceful sounds.

Slowly, but surely, my eye lids began to feel even heavier. I let out several weighted yawns; I could notice my head nodding towards my chest now and then.

Soon, my dense lids won.

Everything was dark, and I felt myself slowly drifting off.. Temporarily letting go of the unspeakable events that happened earlier today...

Temporarily letting go of the guilt...

* * *

_AN: Welp, there you go! Sorry it's been so long, but I'm gonna spend the next couple days writing, in between some reviewing for the finals D: And my new part-time job. I really need to the make up for the past month! I'm so much further behind than what I want. SO, I think I can say this with confidence now, I will have Who Knew? updated within the next week or two, AND a new chapter of Children of the Grey, co-written with Rowan Cousland. Let me know if there's any mistakes, typos, etc. that I missed._

_Feeback always welcome!_

_Happy 2011!_

_-Kat_


	13. New Journey Starting Now!

_AN: Hey guys! Thanks for some of your feedback from the last chapter. Was it alright to you guys? I just wanted to know if you were pleased with it or what not. So, finals are done, thank goodness. Second semester classes are rough, but what can you do?_

_Anywho, thanks again for you guys being patient enough with me. I am truly happy that some of you guys still read this little ol' story. I tried making my deadline several days ago on my birthday, the 24th. That didn't exactly work out. At first, I wrote everything with the game's format, but but but but, I felt that was a wee too boring and predictable. So I spent an extra week changing it up a bit. Hope that was worth it! _

_Any thoughts on all that? Let me know! Anyway, Read away!_

* * *

**Chapter 13. New Journey Starting... Now!**

_KeiraPOV_

Ugh.. Why do I feel so sore?

I attempted to shift over to my side, trying to make myself comfortable.. Fail. That made the pain a lot worse. I stayed laid out on my back, groaning to myself. I still felt fatigued, and had no motivation or energy to open my eyes at the moment. Slowly, trying to avoid the pain from my sore muscles, I tried extending my arm to stretch out a bit. Huh? Something was blocking my arm. I immediately froze for a moment, then placed my hand gently on whatever it was. It was warm and soft to the touch, was somebody next to me? I moved my hand down further until I made out the shape of a hand. My fingers interlocked with the other hands' fingers for a moment, gaining a feeling of comfort and bewilderment at the same time.

"Gavin?... Alistair?" I groaned.

"Is she waking up?" I could hear a familiar voice followed by footsteps.

More footsteps were heard as a young woman's voice chimed in, "Ah, she seems to be coming about. Mother shall be pleased."

I could hear voices near me, but I could not recognize them. What happened? Think Keira, think. Okay... Alistair and I went to the Tower of Ishal.. Lit the beacon.. Darkspawn.. And more darkspawn.. Then I think I was shot. Alistair and I were both shot. That's right.

"About time! I was beginning to think neither of them would wake."

Gavin?

Is he really here? That must have been him talking! Fighting against my heavy lids, my eyes slowly opened. I noticed my vision was a bit blurry. Though my sight wasn't perfect, I think I made out who was laying beside me. A familiar, warm face was sleeping soundly at my side. I think I melted a bit inside, the peaceful expression on his face was almost _too_ comforting.

It would be hard to forget that particular face: Alistair.

After taking a deep breath, I proceeded to sit up quickly and view my surroundings. Well, I attempted to anyway. As soon as I began to move, I could feel the extreme stiffness coming from my muscles. My eyes squeezed shut as I continued, grimacing with each movement my muscles made. I cringed even more as I could feel the pain shoot down my back. I let out a long exhale when I finally was able to sit up. I inhaled deeply, picking up scents of different herbs and spices. Nearby, I could hear the bubbling of liquid and creaking of wood floors. Where was I? Drowsily, I looked around the room, seeing two figures talking in the corner.

_Huh, for some reason I expected Alistair to wake first. Pleasant surprise, pleasant surprise._

Wait, I heard him! _Gavin?_

My vision became focused a bit more as one of the figures paced over to the bed's edge. A feeling a relief sank in as my brother's face came into my sight. He knelt down at the edge of the bed, brows furrowed as he seemed to examine my face.

"Gavin.. Is that really you?"

As if ignoring my question, he brushed a stray hair away from my eyes and kept his concentrated, emerald orbs locked onto me, "Morrigan, she seems to be looking better, yes?"

Morrigan?.. The girl from the Wilds? Is that where?... This must be the inside of her hut then. What could we be doing here?

"**Looking** better does not actually mean she **is** better." She stated as she walked towards the bed and knelt down next to Gavin.

I could feel my mind churning, as rapid as a river. I could feel a headache beginning to form at the back of my head as I tried to piece everything together. I tilted my head a bit and gazed at the two in front of me with confusion, "What exactly is going on?"

Morrigan quickly stood up and mumbled something to herself, which was followed by a large frown from Gavin. He stood up and crossed his arms, switching occasional gazes between Morrigan and I. I almost couldn't believe I felt this disoriented. At this point, Gavin was much more aware of everything than me! I looked back to him, hoping for some answers. He called out something to Morrigan, but I couldn't make out what he said. Quickly, he turned back to me and let out a sigh.

_W-what's going on?_

He gave an awkward smile, _You need something to uh, heal quicker._

I tilted my head with confusion.

_Don't worry, it's a delicious drink to help your sore muscles.. Or something like that._

As he, well, thought this to me, Morrigan was coming over with some steaming drink in her hands.. Another mysterious looking concoction? First Duncan, then Alistair, now her. I sniffed the air a couple of times. What's that smell? Morrigan held the drink out in front of me, its rotten stench began filling my nose.

"Drink up." She said in a flat tone.

I cautiously took the cup in my hands, looking into the dark green mix in front of me. I arched an eyebrow at the two of them "Do I really have to drink this? It smells awful.."

"Well, 'tis your choice to continue_ feeling_ awful, if you do not wish to drink it." Morrigan stated.

With the cup in one hand and pinching my nose with the other, I slowly began consuming the thick liquid. Just as I predicted, the taste was just as atrocious as the smell. As the warm liquid slowly crawled down my throat, I began to feel my body feeling a bit better. As soon as the cup emptied, I exhaled and quickly wiped my mouth, trying to rid it of the taste. There was a moment of silence, followed by the bellowing noise of a burp, "... Thanks Morrigan. I think that woke me up a bit."

She sighed, "You are welcome.. Though 'twas for your stiff muscles, not for your fatigue."

Time to start questioning. I continued to sit at the edge of the bed, looking up at the two as I asked, "So... If you're Morrigan, then am I correct to say we are in the Wilds?"

"You are. Gavin has been assisting me with bandaging your wounds." Before I could respond, she continued, "You are welcome, by the way. How does your memory fare? Do you remember Mother's rescue?"

"I... I remember we were overwhelmed by darkspawn.."

"Mother managed to save you and your comrade, though 'twas a close call. What is important is that you both lived." She turned her head to Gavin, "And that Gavin lived as well, though 'twas under difficult circumstances." Gavin's posture wilted a bit when she mentioned that last sentence.

I quirked an eyebrow at his behavior, and he seemed to catch my reaction. He gave a one shoulder shrug and spoke with a quiet voice, "I'll tell you about all that later.."

I turned my head back at Alistair, who still laying on his side of the bed. "Were his injuries very severe? Were mine?"

"Yes, I would say so. However, it was nothing that Mother could not heal."

"Gavin, were you injured?.. At all?"

He sighed, frowning to himself as he shook his head, "Only on the inside." He looked back at me, suddenly changing to a more upbeat tone, "What's important is that you're alive. And that Alistair is. And even that Carlin is." He smirked, "And that Morrigan is."

Her mouth pressed into a straight line, "... Yes. Moving on."

"So wait a second... Who were the other survivors?" I looked up to both of them anxiously, "Duncan? King Cailan?.. What about Teyrn Loghain?" I shifted my eyes to Gavin, "Was Fergus there?"

Gavin's shoulders hunched a bit and slowly shook his head.

Morrigan spoke slowly, keeping a calm tone, "The man who was to respond to your signal quit the field. The darkspawn won your battle. There were no other particular survivors, those he abandoned were massacred."

Duncan? Everybody?... My thoughts immediately went to Alistair, Duncan, and the other Grey Wardens. I slightly looked back at Alistair, whose peaceful expression still lingered on his face. How would any of us tell him such a thing? He knew the Grey Wardens far longer than Gavin or I. It would be like.. Like he lost his own family.. I know from experience what that's like.

"I see.." I mumbled to myself. I looked up to Morrigan, giving her a half-smile "Thank you, Morrigan. For everything. You have no idea how much I appreciate it."

"I.. Well.." she stuttered with her words for a moment, almost as if she's never been given a compliment before in her life, "You are welcome, though Mother did most of the work. I am no healer."

Gavin cleared his throat, nodding his head to the door, "Can I talk to you for a bit outside? At least until Alistair wakes up."

Morrigan added, "He can also answer any other questions you may have. Mother will probably be in here in any minute to check up on your friend," she shifted her eyes down to him, then quickly back up to me, speaking in a pleasant tone, "Then no doubt will want to talk to all of you. I will stay, and make something to eat."

I nodded and stood up to head for the door. I felt goosebumps shimmy up my legs as my bare feet touched the cold floor. It wasn't until now that I noticed my armor was gone, with nothing but underclothes and a large tunic covering only half of my thighs. I don't think I recalled owning a tunic this large. I quirked a brow and stretched part of the tunic's sleeve to my nose. This... Smells...

"... Gavin, is this _your_ tunic?" _It smells like swamp water_

Awkward silence.

"... Yes." _It's because it **was** in swamp water.._

"Ah."

With a shrug, I followed behind Gavin out the door. As I stepped outside, I noticed the older woman, Morrigan's mother standing by the door about to pass us. She froze for a moment before heading into the door, and turned her head to me, "Ahh, I see you have awaken already."

I stopped in my tracks, "Y-yes, I have."

"Hm." She nodded, "Good. This must mean your friend will begin to stir soon as well."

Before I could say another word, she continued into the hut and closed the door right behind her.

I shrugged at the short conversation and a took a few steps out toward the swampy water, stretching my arms as far as they could reach. A small breeze flowed through the air, catching and pulling slightly at my tunic. The air gently caressed my bare skin, leaving tiny goosebumps with its touch. The nice breeze did not, however, change the swamp's appearance from the last time I was here. I could almost taste the thick, stagnant air as every foul smell began to cling at every inch of my body.

"Nice area to live in, if I do say so myself."

Gavin softly chuckled, catching the bit of sarcasm in my voice, "It's certainly scenic, yes?"

"It's short of some mounted skulls, and an old woman who's perfectly capable of performing voodoo rituals... Oh wait."

"I suppose."

A smile quietly faded from my lips as I heard the usual cheerful tone in his voice melt away. It was followed by an unnatural silence. I could tell something was up. He stood away from me, facing the large mass of water with his arms crossed. His thoughts were quiet, as though he's making an extra effort to not let me in. I took a couple steps towards him, "Gavin? What were you going to talk to me about?"

Silence.

I took a couple more steps, now only a couple feet away from him. "Gavin?"

"I shouldn't be alive, Keira."

A small gasp emitted from my lips, "How could you say something like that? Aren't you grateful that Morrigan's mother saved us?"

"It was different with me," he let out a long sigh, then slowly turned around halfway to face me, "It was under difficult.. Circumstances."

I arched a brow, "I'm listening."

He sighed yet again, his fingers ran through his hair as he paused to gather his thoughts. "You recall how I went to the battlefield instead, yes?"

I nodded.

"And you recall how Morrigan's mother saved you as a bird-like thing?"

A bird-like thing? "No..."

"Oh," he froze awkwardly and paused for a moment, "Well, that's how it happened for you, anyhow. You were on top of the tower. As for me, Morrigan somewhat caught my attention. She was standing at the edge of the battlefield, amongst the trees, where the darkspawn did not even see her.." He took another moment and paused, shifting his eyes to the ground, "She kinda signaled me to come over there. Out of curiosity, I followed her directions and made my way across the valley to meet up with her. She.. She basically asked me to quit the field, and leave with her. Her mother said something would happen, and she wished to save us. You and Alistair were in trouble, according to Morrigan.. " He hunched his shoulders a bit, "I didn't believe her until I heard your voice in my head again. You said you were sorry. So, I.. Quit the field. I needed to be sure you were alright, and something in my gut just made me leave with Morrigan."

I fumbled with words, almost not knowing what to say. What _could_ I say to make him feel better? He spoke with a deep feeling a guilt in his voice. I could understand that, being that desertion was unheard of in any army. He knew that Father would consider that to be leaving his duty. Would I hold it against him? Of course not. I even felt a bit humbled, knowing that he cared for me that much to leave.

He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as he shook his head, "I let Duncan, the king, and everyone else die.."

I offered a sad smile as I reached up and gently placed my hand on his shoulder, "It's not your fault they died, Gavin." I tried speaking in a soothing tone, "If Morrigan's mother wanted to save us, there must be a good reason."

He slowly lifted his chin and turned his head to face me, "You think so?"

I gave a heavy nod, "Of course." I went through my mind rapidly, trying to come up with something to say, "Maybe she wanted us to avenge those lost? If she knew something awful like that would happen."

He gave a half smile, shrugging his shoulders, "Perhaps.. Nevertheless, thanks for listening. I needed to get that out somehow." He chuckled, "For awhile there I was resorting to confessing to Carlin."

A smile tugged at my lips, "Anytime. Though, Carlin would _love_ to hear all that too."

"But, I have to ask you of something."

"And that is?..."

He quickly peered over to the hut, then back to me, speaking in a low whisper, "You **cannot** say anything to Alistair. Not yet. If he knows I abandoned Duncan while on the battlefield, he would flip!" He extended his arms up, illustrating his point. "Knowing him, as much as we know him so far, he probably won't ask anything about it yet.. But I would rather be the one to tell him whenever that time comes."

I nodded a couple times, "Understood." Hopefully, things won't become ugly between them because of this.

"Good." He stated, "Anyways, if Morrigan's mother was right, Alistair will be waking up soon." He pointed his finger back to the hut, "So.. I'll go grab your armor so you can change out of that smelly tunic."

With that, he was off. I stood idly by, looking around at my surroundings. In the corner of my eye, I spotted something very familiar. By the corner of the hut, a brown ball of fur was curled up on the ground. I grinned to myself as my posture relaxed a bit. So _that's_ where he was. I giggled at Carlin's mannerisms, his ears twitched like an overexcited child, while strange whines and other noises emitted from his mouth. It's always funny to watch dogs in their sleep. They must be having a good dream, I always thought.

I slightly jumped out of surprise as the creaky door quickly opened, slamming back into the hut. I looked up, expecting to see Gavin hauling all of my armor. I froze for a moment as my eyes locked to a familiar pair of amber eyes. My posture relaxed again, realizing it was just Alistair. My eyes scanned him, seeing that he was wearing simple trousers and a short-sleeved tunic that showed off his... Lovely muscular arms. He had some bed-head hair going on, along with a lugubrious look on his face. Did someone tell him about what happened at Ostagar?

He seemed to be taken aback as he closed the door behind him. "Oh, um.." His face began to redden a bit, "Has, uh, anyone told you that, um, you're not wearing any pants?"

I chuckled, "Good to see you too, Alistair. I was beginning to think you wouldn't wake up soon."

He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, "Good to see you too, Keira.. Honestly, I thought you would be dead for sure."

".. After last night, I could say the same about you."

He took a couple steps towards me, "Last night.. I-it doesn't seem real."

I shook my head, "No, it doesn't."

"Morrigan's mother I think is coming out to talk with us about it soon. She said she would talk with us and Gavin."

I nodded. _Gavin.. Are you still getting my armor?_

There was a slight pause. _... No. I decided to bond with Morrigan, instead. _My mouth pressed into a straight line. There was another pause before he continued. _Anyways, we're coming out riiiight, now._

On cue with Gavin's thoughts, he and Morrigan's mother came through the door. Alistair turned back to face me, "You know, if it weren't for Morrigan's mother, we'd be dead on top of that tower."

The old woman's eyes narrowed as she approached us, "Do not talk about me as if I am not present, lad."

"I-I didn't mean... But what do we call you?" Alistair asked, "You never told us your name."

She shrugged, "Names are pretty, but useless. The Chasind folk call me Flemeth, I suppose that will do."

Alistair arched an eyebrow, "_The_ Flemeth from the legends? Daveth was right - you're the Witch of the Wilds, aren't you? The powerful and dangerous apostate mage?"

Gavin snickered a bit, _And there the templar goes, biting the hand that fed him.. Er, healed him, I mean._

She replied in an irritated tone, "And what does that mean? I know a bit of magic, and it has severed you all well, has it not?"

"Of course it has. You've been too kind!" Gavin smirked as he gave an over-dramatic bow, "We thank you, my dear lady."

".. Flattery will get you nowhere, lad."

I cleared my throat, "Well why did you save us?"

"Well, we cannot have all the Grey Wardens dying at once, can we? Someone has to deal with these darkspawn." Before we had a chance to reply, she continued on, "It has always been the Grey Wardens' duty to unite the lands against the Blight. Or did that change when I wasn't looking?"

Gavin's posture wilted, "Well, most of them were slaughtered.."

Flemeth snapped at him, "If you think small numbers make you defeated, then you have already lost."

Alistair shook his head with frustration, "But we _were_ dealing with the darkspawn! The king had nearly defeated them! Why would Loghain do this?"

"Now that is a good question. Men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature." Flemeth paused, "Perhaps he believes the Blight is an army he can outmanuever. Perhaps he does not se the evil behind it is the true threat."

Alistair's eyes widened, as if he has realized something. "The archdemon."

I bit my lip, confused on what he just said. "What is the archdemon, exactly?"

Flemeth cleared her throat before she went onto this mini-tale, "It is said that long ago, the maker sent the Old Gods of teh ancient Tevinter imperium to slumber in prisons deep beneath the surface. An archdemon is an Old God awakened and tainted by darkspawn. Believe that or not, history says it's a fearsome and immortal thing... And only fools ignore history."

Gavin's eyes lit up, "We should contact the Grey Wardens!"

Alistair shook his head, "Cailan already summoned them. They'll come if they can. But I expect Loghain has already taken steps to stop them. We must assume they won't arrive in time."

Gavin scoffed, "What could the teyrn hope to gain by betraying the king?"

"Think about it Gavin," I said, "He's the queen's father. Besides that, he's the only teyrn now that Father is dead. All that power..." I shook my head in disbelief, "He could potentially become king. This just makes him even closer to the throne, if he wanted it."

".. Still, I can't see how he'll get away with murder." Alistair mumbled to himself.

Flemeth frowned, and spoke in a scolding tone, "You speak as if he would be the first king to gain his throne that way. Grow up, boy!"

Alistair clenched his fists, "If Arl Eamon knew what he did, he would never stand for it! The Landsmeet would never stand for it! There would be civil war!" Alistair continued venting, "The arl still has all of his men, being that he was not at Ostagar. He's a good man, we could appeal to him for help!"

"Arl Eamon? The Arl of Redcliffe?" I asked aloud. I thought back several years ago... Arl Eamon of Redcliffe.. Yes, my family visited his estate a couple times! Perhaps that would give him another reason to aid us, he was close friend's with Mother and Father. If he believes Loghain is up to something, perhaps he _would_ help us. He's a good man.. Just like Father was. Wait a second... I think I could almost feel my brain churning... Did Loghain plan on being the only teyrn left in Ferelden? Did he know of Howe's plans? That would direct more power to him, as if it was part of his plan... I shook the thoughts out of my head.. I don't have enough proof for that, no matter how convenient that might seem.

Gavin crossed his arms, "You think the arl would believe us over the teyrn?"

Alistair nodded slightly, "I suppose. He was Cailan's uncle! I know him. It's worth a try, if anything."

"Don't forget those treaties!" I chimed.

Alistair hit his head jokingly, in a way that he should've thought about the treaties from the start. "Of course! The treaties! Grey Wardens can demand aid from dwarves, elves, mages, and other places! They're obligated to help us during a Blight!"

"I may be old, but dwarves, elves, mages, this Arl Eamon and who knows what else. This sounds like an army to me." Flemeth stated.

Alistair turned to Gavin and I, "So can we do this? Go to Redcliffe and these other places and... build an army?" Could that even be possible?.. It's worth a try. Our duty is to protect Ferelden anyway. We have to do what we can, right?

Gavin and I shrugged, "Why not?" Gavin asked.

"Isn't that what Grey Wardens do?" I added.

Flemeth gave us a knowing smile, "So you are set then? Ready to be Grey Wardens?"

"As ready as we'll ever be!" Gavin shrieked with excitement.

I could feel a smile curl from my lips. I turned to Flemeth, speaking with a sincere tone, "Thank you for everything, Flemeth."

She shook her head, "No, no, thank _you_. You are the Grey Wardens here. Before you go, there is yet one thing I can offer."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Morrigan emerge from the door, approaching our little group. "The stew is bubbling, mother dear." She looked up to us, "Shall we have three guests for the eve, or none?"

"The Grey wardens are leaving shortly girl. Pack your things, as you will be joining them."

"Such a shame-" She quickly realized what her mother just said, looking utterly shocked, "Wait, what?"

Flemeth cackled, "You heard me, girl! Last time I looked, you had ears!"

Gavin stepped up, holding his hands up in defense. "Thank you, but if Morrigan doesn't wish to join us-"

Flemeth cut him off. "Her magic will be useful. Even better, she knows the Wilds and how to get past the horde."

Morrigan scoffed, "Have I no say?"

"You have been itching to get out of the Wilds for years. Here is your chance. Wardens, consider this repayment for your lives."

"Was this your idea all along?" Gavin asked. _I don't mind it._

Flemeth lifted her chin, "Pardon me, but I had the impression that you two needed assistance, whatever the form."

Alistair slightly cringed, "Not to... Look a gift horse in the mouth, but won't this add to our problems? Out of the Wilds, she's an apostate." _There the templar goes again..._ I narrowed my eyes at Gavin as I heard those last thoughts.

The old woman crossed her arms, "If you do not wish help from us illegal mages, young man, perhaps I should have left you on that tower."

Awkward pause.

"...Point taken." Alistair muttered. "I apologize."

Morrigan turned to her mother with pleading eyes, "Mother... this is not how I wanted this. I am not ready."

"You must be ready. These three must take down the Blight and unite Ferelden. They need you, Morrigan. Without you, they will surely fail and all will perish. Even I."

"I... understand."

"And you, wardens?" Flemeth locked her eyes onto us, "Do you understand? I give you that which I value above all in this world. I do this because you must succeed."

Gavin nodded, "She won't come to harm with us."

With a sigh Morrigan spoke with a dull voice, "I am at your disposal, Grey Wardens. I suggest a village north of the Wilds as our first destination. 'Tis not far and you will find much you need there..." Her voice then twisted with bitterness, "Or, if you prefer, I shall simply be your _silent_ guide. The choice is yours."

Gavin did no hesitate to reply, "No, no, I prefer you speak your mind."

Flemeth laughed, "You will regret saying that, lad."

Morrigan's voice spoke with dripping sarcasm, "Dear sweet mother, how kindly you cast me out like this. I will remember this moment fondly."

"Oh hush dear girl, do try to have some fun." She turned to Alistair and I, "Now, I suggest before taking off, you two go change into your armor and gather your packs." I looked down at my attire as she spoke, "That sort of dress will not protect you from the darkspawn."

"And when you two are done changing, I shall get my things, if you do not mind." Morrigan added.

"Right." Alistair and I said in unison as we headed for the hut.

I could hear Gavin chuckle to himself behind us, _If only the room was not divided in two sections, huh?_

_Shut it, Gavin._

_You were thinking it, and by the look on his face, he was thinking it too. _

Yet again, I could feel the heat crawl up my neck due to my brother's innate ability to make me feel awkward. I quickly rushed into the hut in front of Alistair, hoping he would not see my crimson colored face.

_Oh, and if it makes you feel any better sis, I could tell what you were dreaming of last night too._

I sighed to myself.

This is going to be a long several months..

* * *

_AN: Well, there you go! Sorry for the extra wait, it did not cover my two weeks top deadline. I apologize! It seemed to have landed a week later than I originally planned. Anywho, feedback appreciated! Let me know of any typos and such if I missed any._

_-Kat_


	14. Marilyn

_AN: Hey guys! Thanks for all your feedback again! Thought I'd make a super update... I had enough time at least. That humongous snowstorm gave me a couple snow days! I haven't seen this much snow outside in awhile... Not sure if all you guys were affected by it, depending on where you live, but it was crazy! It affected over half of the states in the U.S. in some way! If you were affected by it, I hope all is well and no one was hurt :) And that not too many of you lost power and such! _

_Anywho, so back to something relevant, I'm thinking of going back and revamping some chapters. Any thoughts on that? I'd let you guys know when it's updated and such and what I added. For now I was thinking of going back to the first chapter, adding a little extra stuff, and adding the conversation with Bryce Cousland that is originally in the game. I'd like to hear your thoughts on that :)_

_Now... Read!_

* * *

_GPOV_

**Chapter 14. Marilyn**

"Are we there yet?"

Morrigan let out another sigh, "No, Gavin. We are not. We are closer to your Imperial Highway, however."

"Ah.."

Maybe I'm not cut out for this traveling thing. Not exactly the patient kind of guy. Well, at least when there's nothing to do to pass the time. Besides small talk that we've made here and there, nothing much has happened. After Keira and Alistair changed and gathered their things, Morrigan packed her belongings as well and said goodbyes to her mother. Flemeth, by the way, seemed somewhat eager to see us go off. It was a bit sketchy.. Then again, she's a frail, potentially dangerous, little old woman. I doubt she could be up to anything, right?... Right?...

As we traveled on, the scenery didn't change much. Gwaren was the furthest south I think I've been before this whole thing started, and just like there, it's normal scenery you would expect anywhere else. This part of Ferelden is really no different, once you get outside of the Wilds, that is. Everything south of the Wilds is uncharted territories, only Maker knows what's down there. As for where we're at, forested areas, rolling plains, it's all the same. For awhile now, we've been walking down a dirt path, passing by some foliage areas and country sides. We haven't yet gotten to the Imperial Highway. The highway is just a grand looking path that goes along to all parts of Ferelden. It has made traveling a lot easier when it comes to not getting lost, and for getting somewhere safely... Usually.

"Sooo... Morrigan, what all is in Lothering?" I asked innocently.

I looked over at Morrigan, who simply shrugged,"'Tis a small place of little consequence. No more than a stop along your Imperial Highway where travelers purchase goods from local farms and smiths. I would go more often were it not for the town's chantry..." She narrowed her eyes, "It makes the village particularly intolerant and unpleasant for a stranger such as me."

"Hm." Alistair sneered at this, "A chantry? And they never, in _all_ this time, thought that maybe you were a witch?"

"Of course they have. They even called out their templars once." She spoke in a knowing tone, "They found nothing."

"Is there any reason to go to Lothering, then?" Keira asked.

Morrigan nodded, "I mention it for its tavern, where travelers gather with news from other places. 'Tis small enough that our appearance might go unnoticed. Beyond that, 'tis close and I know the way."

Hmm. I raised an eyebrow, "Well then, besides Lothering, have you ever been outside of the Wilds?

"From time to time, I have been to Lothering, watched its people, and such. Mother wishes for me to expand the horizon of my experience beyond the Wilds. Even she was not born here.

"Well it's a perfect time to do so!" Keira's eyes sparkled with excitement, "You'll love Ferelden!.. Maybe."

"Only time shall tell."

"I'm curious, Morrigan," I could feel a grin curl at my lips, "What skills might you have?"

She let out a sigh, then continued speaking in her normal, eloquent tone, "I know a few spells, though I am nowhere near as powerful as Mother. I have also studied history. And your Grey Warden treaties."

"...Can you cook?" Alistair asked flatly.

A pinched expression slowly came upon her face, "...I _can_ cook, yes."

My grin widened, "You can make me a sammich, woman."

She narrowed her eyes at me, "I do not even know what a _'sammich'_ is."

"Oh, nevermind that," Keira said in a rushed tone, "Main thing is... You could substitute for Alistair!" She extended her arms into the air with excitement. Earlier, we had talked about cooking and food and such. We learned that apparently Alistair's rabbit soup became famous among the other Grey Wardens... Whether that was good or bad, Alistair wouldn't say. I can only assume it was bad.

Alistair only responded with a dry tone, "Right. My cooking will kill us. That's all I meant."

Morrigan smiled, "I also know 15 different poisons that grow right here in this marsh. Not that I would suggest 'tis at all related to cooking."

".. Remind me _not_ to consume your cooking." Alistair added.

Suddenly, I could hear something in the distance. I could hear fast shuffles on the dirt and graveled path ahead of us, though nothing was yet in our view. I could hear something else as well... Was that.. Barking? Maybe I'm hearing things.

"Can you guys hear that?"

Everyone immediately froze. Keira tilted her head toward the noise, ".. I think so."

Carlin's ears twitched, then he proceeded to bark excitedly.

Around the path, something finally became visible. A creature was making its way towards us in a fast pace. I squinted my eyes a bit, hoping to get a better glance. Is that what I think it is?... That's impossible. I almost couldn't believe my eyes as the recognizable creature made its way towards us.

As it came closer, the familiar, fair russet colored mabari's cries became louder. She stopped in front of me, barking and jumping around excitedly. She turned to Carlin, letting out a few barks. They communicated with each other for a bit, exchanging a couple barks and such. Suddenly, as if she passed on a crucial message, Carlin's mood changed immediately. The two turned around to face the path in front of us. I raised a brow at the two as they continued growling. It wasn't long before I could sense the reason behind their actions. I sensed some darkspawn nearby, and from Alistair and Keira's faces, they could two. A small group of darkspawn walked toward us in a confident fashion. The leader, decked out in some fancy golden armor, smirked with his eyes as he made a throat cutting gesture.

It's on.

Being that there were now _six_ of us, the little skirmish did not last very long. The darkspawn were finished off in no time. I smiled to myself, after fighting darkspawn a few times now, I think I could get used to this style of living.

The dog wagged her tail happily, while panting after the little battle.

Speaking in a babying voice, I bent down to pet her, "Aw, those darkspawn didn't hurt you, girl, did they?"

"Was that the mabari you helped at Ostagar?" Keira asked.

I nodded in reply. I recognized her the moment I saw her. I guess she was able to escape the darkspawn horde, then came all the way out here to find us, or me specifically. I was glad to see her healthy and well, last time I saw her she was in a terrible state. How lucky was I that she was the one to escape and run into us? She's the only mabari that I've been able to fully get along with... So far.

Alistair smiled at the newfound canine, "I think she was out there looking for you. She's... chosen you, mabari are like that. They call it imprinting."

Morrigan let out an exaggerated sigh, "Does this mean we're going to have _another _mangy beast following us about now? Wonderful."

"Aw," Alistair cooed, "She's not mangy!"

A feeling of enthusiasm surged within me, "Oh, I've never had a pet before... Maybe it's meant to be!"

Keira chuckled as Carlin went over to greet our new companion, "Now he has a playmate!" She clasped her hands together, "So cute!" She turned to me, speaking with curiosity, "She's got to have a name.. Any thoughts?"

A name? Maker, I forgot about that. It's got to be a good one. None of that Angel, Cupcake, or Sweetie nonsense. She's a war hound. She _has_ to have a fitting name for war hound. Think, Gavin, think. What's a name that you've always liked? Hmm.

"I've got it!" I exclaimed, raising my fists into the air. I pointed at the mabari, "From now on, you shall be called... Marilyn."

"Marilyn?" The others said in unison, eyebrows quirked.

I nodded, "It's an _elegant_ name, very fitting for a special dog." Marilyn let out a happy bark upon hearing this.

"Hmm." Keira thought aloud. She smirked to herself, "Car_lin_, Mari_lyn_... Is there suppose to be a connection?" Drats. She found me out.

"Nope!" I said in a rushed tone, "Onward! Let's go! I'm hungry and standing here doesn't help."

It wasn't before long when we reached the first part of the Imperial Highway. It's an impressive sight, especially after traveling through the forests for a large part of your journey. It's a large, bridge-like series of white archways, extending throughout major parts of Ferelden. Walking along the stone path, we continued to see less forestry, and more empty plains and farmland. Soon enough, Morrigan stated that Lothering is just up ahead. In the distance, we could see a group of people waiting by the end of the highway, right where it cuts off and leads into the town of Lothering.

We approached the group of people. A few men were laying down, while others were just lounging in general. A tan fellow with dark hair, scurried over to us, eyes lighting up with alert. He spoke in a jubilant voice. "Wake up, gentlemen! More travelers to attend to." He smirked as he pointed to Keira, "I'd guess the pretty one is the leader."

"... And what exactly does that make me?" I mumbled to myself.

Another man, red headed, dragged his feet next to the other man. This other man seemed a bit dim-witted, or so it seems by the way he talks, "Err.. they don't look much like them others, you know. Uh... Maybe we should just let these ones pass.."

He shook his head at the man, "Nonsense! Greetings, travelers!"

Alistair spoke with a low tone, "Highwaymen. Preying on those fleeing the darkspawn, I suppose." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, just in case I suppose.

Morrigan scoffed at the highwaymen, "They are fools to get in our way. I say we teach them a lesson." Marilyn emitted a low growl from her throat, as if she approved of Morrigan's idea.

The leader shook his head in a nonsensical way, "Now is that any way to greet someone? Tsk, tsk, tsk. A simple ten silvers and you're free to move on."

I arched a brow, crossing my arms at the group, "You're toll collectors, then?" _A bit suspicious, don't you think Keira?_

_Frauds._ She nodded to herself.

The leader's eyes gleamed with mischief, "Yes indeed! For the upkeep of the Imperial Highway! It's a bit of a mess, don't you think?"

Keira crossed her arms, then leaned a bit to the side as she put her weight on one leg, "You're fixing the highway?.. I think not."

The mischief faded, "Not much gets past you, I see."

The dim-witted man chimed in, "It's not really a toll. We're just robbing you, see?"

The bandit leader backhanded the other man's shoulder, "Do shut up! Even a genlock would have understood that."

"Forget it." Keira and I said in unison. "We're not paying."

He shurgged, "Can't say I'm pleased to hear that. We have rules, you know."

Another bandit chimed in, "Right. We get to ransack your corpse. Those are the rules." Maker. We have two warriors, one rogue, one mage, and two mabaris. Do they really think they could kill us all? Petty bandits wouldn't stand a chance against us. I mean _really_. Do they really think we're the average refugee?

I shook my head slowly, chuckling to myself, "Should've listened to your friend. We're not like the others that have passed by.

Keira took a couple steps up to the man, locking her gaze directly at him. She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, "Do you _really_ want to right a Grey Warden?" I smirked to myself, _Nice tactic there, Keira._

The other bandit's eyes widened, "Did she say Grey Warden?" He began speaking in a panicked tone, "Them ones killed the king!" Killed the king? What does he mean by that?

My mouth pressed into a straight line, "We didn't kill the king?.."

The leader nodded, "Traitors to Ferelden, I hear. Teyrn Loghain put quite a bounty on any who are found." Loghain. Of course. Abandoning the field, then blaming the Grey Wardens on King Cailan's death. Unfortunately with hardly any survivors, and the fact that he's considered a hero among the people from the war long ago, everyone would believe him. His own men would be too loyal as to tell the truth on what really happened.

The other bandit conversed with the leader quickly, saying that the Grey Wardens are pretty good. At least he knows his stuff. Then, he went on saying how we were good enough to kill a king. Despite my repeated comment "We didn't kill the king," they still didn't hear me. I shot up another angry glare at the Maker. People are tuning me out again, and he's getting his laughs. Hasn't he had enough of this sick enjoyment of tormenting me?

_The Maker doesn't hate you, Gavin._

I shot a quick glare at Keira, mouthing the words, "You don't know that."

She shrugged, and continued to listen in on the bandit's exchange. In the end, the leader decided to let us go on. He turned back to us, clasping his hands together, "Let's just forget about the little ol' toll! We'll leave you to your darkspawn-fighting, king-killing ways."

"... We didn't kill the king." I said in a flat tone.

No response. Maker is laughing right now. I can feel it.

A few moments of silence went by before I decided to try something else. He'll probably ignore me, but here it goes. "... So you know, the Grey Wardens could use a donation."

The bandit leader quirked a brow, "You don't say?"

"... They is really good, boss." The dim witted bandit added.

"Uh, yes. Twenty silvers? That's what we've.. Collected today."

"Excellent," I grinned, "A wonderful donation, thank you." _We'll put that to good use... Right, Gavin?_

_Of course, Keira! Don't doubt me._

"Err.. Enjoy your stay at Lothering!"

We walked pass the bandits, and just as we were about to go down the stone incline to the town, I noticed some crates out of the corner of my eye. What's this? As I approached it, one of the bandits became hostile, ultimately starting up a fight. Here we go. After a couple minutes, the leader surrendered to us. After accusing him of being a criminal, we demanded they hand over the things they've stolen. Not that we wanted to keep it personally, we could drop it off at the Chantry for people to pick up their stolen items. He also gave us all the coins they've collected, 100 silvers. This'll come in handy. Though, Keira and I agreed to use some of it to help out the refugees.

We also questioned them a bit. We asked about survivors from Ostagar, which to our luck he said a couple might've passed by. A group of ash warriors came by.. The ones that I saw in the camp. Though it's doubtful, I could only hope that Fergus was one of the survivors. He had to have survived. We learned that Lothering is packed with refugees. The bann of the town left, going off to join Teyrn Loghain, whose men is already northward. Oh, and everyone thinks we killed the king. Teyrn Loghain "escaped" just in time, then became regent and put a bounty on our heads. Bastard.

Afterwards, we told them to run off, and don't come back.

We also noticed a templar's corpse, and some items next to his body. I bent down next to it and picked up a locket and a note. Keira said that perhaps it would mean something to someone in town. If the templars in town knew this man, perhaps I could give it to one of them? Either way, I put it in my pack for later. We went down the stone incline, and before us was a view of Lothering's refugee camp.

Alistair extended his arm out to the scene, "Well there it is. Lothering, pretty as a painting."

"Ah. So you have finally decided to rejoin us, have you? Falling on your blade in grief seemed like too much trouble, I take it?" Morrigan said.

Alistair frowned at her comment, "Is my being upset so hard to understand? What if your mother died? What would you do?"

"... Before or after I stopped laughing?" She asked in a calm tone.

His mouth pressed into a straight line, "Right. Creepy. Forget I asked." I'm going to have to agree with Alistair. I didn't think Morrigan disliked her mother _that_ much.

Keira's brows furrowed a bit. She turned to Alistair and spoke with a soothing tone, "... You've been very quiet, Alistair." I noticed this as well. Most of the way here he was in silence. I guess I can't blame him. Keira and I acted in a similar way after leaving the castle. It's still somewhat hard to talk of it, but it's gotten better as the days have passed. All Alistair needs is some time.

"Yes, well, I've just been.. Thinking." Alistair hunched his shoulders a bit.

Morrigan spoke with sarcasm, "Oh no wonder it took this long, then!"

Annoyed, Alistair rolled his eyes are her, "Oh, I get it. This is the part where we're shocked to discover how you've never had a friend your entire life."

She snapped back at him, "I can be friendly when I desire to. Alas, desiring to be more intelligent does not make it so." And it seems as though we are getting nowhere with this...

I held my hands up, trying to speak above the two, "Okay okay, let's stop bickering. We need to figure out where to go from Lothering."

"Thank you." Alistair stated in a stressed tone.

Keira bit her lip and spoke with a little hesitation, "We need to look for Fergus. He might still be alive."

She looked over at me, _I know you want to find him, too._

Alistair turned to Keira, "He was out scouting in the Wilds, wasn't he? That's what the king said."

Morrigan shook her head at this, "Then attempting to look for him there would be foolish. He is either dead or he managed to flee to the north."

"...Very sensitive." The templar mumbled.

The mage sharpened her tone of voice, "I am simply saying it is foolish to mount a rescue when you have no notion where he is. He will either be somewhere outside the Wilds with other survivors or... Not at all." Though I don't want to believe her, that seems the most sensible as of right now.

"But, that doesn't mean we shouldn't go look for him..." She looked down and muttered.

"That's exactly what it means." Morrigan spoke as if she were scolding Keira, like a mother to her child, "You wish to do your brother a service? Avenge him. There will be a time later for searching for survivors."

I lifted my arm and squeezed Keira's shoulder gently, giving her a sad smile. _I think she's right, though I don't want to believe it either. We'll come across him soon enough, just you wait._

She returned a hopeful looking smile, _Perhaps he's out there. Somewhere._

Breaking Keira and I out of our little conversation, Alistair made a suggestion. "I think what Flemeth suggested would be the best idea. The treaties... Have you two looked at them?"

We both nodded.

"There are three main groups what we have treaties for: the Dalish elves, dwarves of Orzammar, and the Circle of Magi. Also, Arl Eamon may be able to help us as well. We might even want to go to him first."

"Why are you leaving it up to us?" Keira asked.

Alistair shrugged, his voice sounding somewhat flustered, "Well, I don't know where to go. I'll do whatever you guys decide."

"Now _that_ is unsurprising." Morrigan added.

We suggested contacting the Grey Wardens, but Alistair said the only place to send word to is Weisshaupt Fortress, but that's thousands of miles away. So that's not an option. I asked Morrigan her opinions, and she suggested going to Loghain directly in Denerim and killing him... Not exactly a good idea, but that's her opinion. Alistair also thought it was a bad idea, thus starting another argument between the two. Luckily, Keira and I, being the peacemakers of our little group, broke them out of their argument. Afterwards, we thought it would be best to get a move on.

The first part of the camp was full of refugee tents. A fire was placed in the middle of the circle of tents. It was a sad sight to see. Many people were worried, scared, mothers wondered if they were truly safe here. One man stated that he brought his family here, thinking they'd be safe. With the darkspawn's victory at Ostagar, the man became very uncertain. Many feared of their fate, wondering what will come of them now that the king is dead. Children were often scared, some saying how they did not know what was going on at all, and what to do.

It seemed interesting that some villagers talked of a qunari being locked in a cage just out near the tavern... Perhaps it's something to look into.

One farmer in particular seemed to sense that we were from the battle. To avoid hostility, we posed as travelers coming through. Apparently, there's a reward for taking care of those bandits... Keira and I decided to stop by the Chantry to see the templar about that reward. The other reward for taking care of those bandits was the look of relief that came from the family of elves in town. They were apparently robbed, and now that the bandits were gone, they could go back to gather their belongings. We gave them some of the silver they lost too, as well.

Oh, and besides that, I gave a refugee a piece of my mind. Trying to profit from people's misfortune, he was. In the end, he lowered his prices. Score one for Gavin. Having him lower prices allowed us to buy more supplies from him. Morrigan disapproved of it though...

Nevertheless.. It felt good. Really, it did.

_Excuse me, what?_

I sighed and glanced over at Keira, **_Helping people _**_felt good... This is what you get for randomly checking in on my thoughts._

Keira just shrugged and said no more. Next we decided to look into this qunari business. On the way there, a lost little boy was standing about at the bridge, crying aloud for his mother. Keira stopped as we were getting to the bridge. He asked us if we've seen his mother.

She bent down to the level of the little red-haired boy, "Awe, did you get separated from your mother?" _Poor thing.._

"Some mean men with swords came! She told me to go to the village, so I did." The boy sniffled, "She said she would be right behind me, but I've been waiting and waiting.. I can't see her!"

Keira looked back at us, "You guys go on. I'll catch up. I'll take him to the Chantry."

We nodded as she stood back up and held her hand out to the child, "Come along now, someone at the Chantry can help you find your mother."

The boy sniffled yet again, but nodded and he clasped onto her hand. As we began moving on to find the qunari, behind us I could hear the little boy exclaim, "You're a really nice lady! Kind of like mother..."

"Aw," Alistair cooed, "Your sister seems very sweet."

I nodded, "She's pretty fond of children. They always seem to like her back as well." I think that's due to the fact she can act like a child at times.

_.. I heard that. And just so you know, I completely agree. No shame. I **am** a child at heart._

I chuckled to myself, _Alright, alright. Just so you know, Alistair thinks you were very sweet._

Silence from the other side.

Another stab at making her feel awkward: Success.

Alistair mumbled wistfully to himself, "That's nice..." Though, his voice quickly turned sarcastic, "I'm glad that _someone_ in our party is compassionate."

Morrigan gasped, "Is that aimed at me?"

I sighed and shook my head at the two. Thankfully, before they could continue arguing any further, we've already reached the qunari cage. I didn't know much about the qunari people, except for the fact that they are tall, bronze skinned people with white hair, and exotic eyes. This one fit exactly into that description. Geez, this guy seemed eight feet tall. I could hear he was in a chant, but he stopped as we approached the cage.

He looked down at us, and spoke with a heavy tone. "You aren't one of my captors. I will not amuse you any more than I have the other humans. Leave me in peace."

"You're a prisoner? Who put you here?" I asked.

"I'm in a cage, am I not? I've been placed here by the Chantry." He placed a fist over his chest, "I am Sten of the Beresaad, the vanguard, of the qunari people."

I nodded, and raised my hand up to give a wave, "They call me Gavin. Pleased to meet you."

The qunari quirked a brow, "You mock me. Or you show manners I have not come to expect in these lands." He sighed, "Though it matters little now. I will die soon enough."

Morrigan shook her head and frowned, "This is a proud and powerful creature, trapped as prey for the darkspawn. If you cannot see a use for him, I suggest releasing him for mercy's sake alone."

"Mercy? I wouldn't have expected that from you." Alistair responded in a wry tone.

"I would also suggest that Alistair take his place in the cage." She quietly added.

Alistair nodded, speaking with a rushed tone. "Yup. That's what I would have expected."

Sten turned his attention back to me, "I suggest you leave me to my fate."

I raised a brow, "What did you do to end up here?"

"I have been convicted of murder. Have the villagers not spoken of this?"

"Aren't you interested in seeking atonement?" Surely, he would be.

He spoke calmly, "Death shall be my atonement."

"There are other ways to redeem yourself.." I suggested, grinning from ear to ear. "You could help me defend the land against a Blight. I am a Grey Warden.

He tilted his head, "Hmph. Surprising." Surprising? Ouch..

Sten continued, after hurting my precious ego a bit, "My people have heard legends of their strength and skill.. Though I suppose not every legend is true."

I shrugged, "Would the revered mother let you free?"

"Hm," he pondered to himself for a bit, "Perhaps if you told her you were a Grey Warden needing assistance. It seems as likely to bring my death as waiting here."

"I'll be back." He nodded to me as we made our way to the Chantry.

"'Tis a fine example of the Chantry's mercy, is it not?" Morrigan chimed.

I nodded, "I'll say."

This, of course, resulted in another argument between the mage and the templar... This wouldn't stop, would it?

Moving on.. As we were about to go into the Chantry, its board, with many requests put up by several people, caught our attention. I struck up an amusing conversation with its Chanter, who can only say things from the Chant of Light. I tried getting him to speak outside of his vows.

Success.

Upon entering, we quickly asked for Ser Bryant, the head templar, who was content with speaking to us. I had to watch my tongue as I spoke with the man, being sure not to give away the fact that we were Grey Wardens. Bad enough that people think we've killed the king, so it's best to keep that to ourselves. We told him of the bandits, and he was pleased to hear that, giving us a couple sovereigns as a reward.

Also, Alistair recognized a man in the Chantry, Ser Donall. He is apparently one of the knight's of Redcliffe. Something has happened to Arl Eamon, something that led this man to search for a thing called the Urn of Sacred Ashes. It's supposed to contain ashes of our prophetess Andraste, who was burned by magistrates long ago, then sent up to the Maker. He also mentioned a fellow named Ser Henric... The templar corpse we found earlier. We gave Ser Donall his friend's belongings, he was grateful we told him, and also grateful that we drove away the bandits that killed him.

At the other side of the Chantry, we met up with Keira, who was sitting with the boy and a couple other children. She saw us approach, so she said her goodbyes to the child and stood up join us.

"Bye Miss Keira! You were really nice, and hopefully that templar can find my mother!"

She gave him a warm smile, "Bye Peter, I hope he finds her too." After she said goodbye to the boy, we began to make our way across the room to the Revered Mother's office.

"That was a nice thing to do for the boy, you know." Alistair told Keira in a low voice, "Hopefully his mother is alright."

"Heh," Keira began speaking in her 'awkward voice', "It was nothing. He looked like he needed help."

_You're being awkward again, you know. _

_Shh. I am not._

After hearing Keira let out that last thought, we made it to the Revered Mother's office. Hopefully we can get some information from her, and the key for the qunari. Templars were guarding the doorway, while she sat peacefully in her chair. She asked us for a tithe, which we ended up giving. She wanted to give us 30 silvers, so why not? We had all that extra silver anyway.

After receiving the tithe, she began to speak in a pleasant tone. "So do you need help with anything?"

I nodded, "We wanted to talk to you about Sten, the qunari you imprisoned."

She had a knowing look in her eye as she stood up, and began to pace the room. "It might have been kinder to execute him, but I leave his fate to the Maker." She turned her gaze to us, "Why does he interest you?"

I simply shrugged, "What did he do?"

She explained to us how he ultimately butchered an entire farmhold. The youngest of the family hid long enough to survive. They found him standing amidst the carnage, and didn't resist the bann's men as they took him away. Sten didn't say why he did it, only acknowledging he felt guilty. I do not know much about the qunari people, so perhaps we won't ever know the true reason why he did it. He seems like a helpful person, though. Murder or not, he could aide us on our journey.

I sighed, "Is there any way I can convince you to release him?"

"Then his next victims might count you _and_ me as their murderers."

I shook my head, locking eyes with the old woman, "Well, I suggest you-"

"We have come to return him to his people." Keira spoke in a quick, even tone. What did she say?... Did she just... Lie?

She shifted her eyes to me, _Yes, I did. It was better than **threatening** her, Gavin._

"Well... That is.. Convenient. I had no idea the qunari even knew he was here." She handed us the key, "Here, take this to the qunari's cage and take him away. I pray this is the right path, for all our sakes."

Keira smiled and gave her thanks. To even suck up to the old woman even more, she asked her for the Maker's blessing. Gladly, she granted it to us, having us kneel down as she said a prayer to the Maker. Immediately after, we came out pretty quickly, not wanting her to change her mind or anything.

After walking out, a mad man, speaking hysterically about the darkspawn and us, stopped us in our path. Keira, also having the Cousland silver tongue, talked some sense into the man. She even mustered courage into the people that were listening to him. Personally, I think she got those skills from me.. I'm her influence.

_Keep talking, Gavin. _Keira smirked to herself.

I shot her another glance, _It's true, and you know it._

She simply shrugged, _Whatever makes you sleep better at night._

On our way back, I noticed the town's tavern. Curious, I thought we might as well stop by before letting the qunari out. It's not like he's going anywhere. As we walked in, this woman on the side of the tavern stood out from the crowd. I had a good look at her face, and Maker, she was gorgeous. She had lusty, short scarlet hair. I wonder what someone like her is doing around here. It doesn't look like she belongs in Lothering, let alone a refugee camp. She seemed like a sweetheart, judging by the look on her face. Only problem is... She's wearing a Chantry robe.

As I sighed wistfully to myself, Keira cleared her throat, trying to get my attention. I looked over in bewilderment, I haven't really been paying attention to what she was saying.

Huh, there's some tough looking men over there. They happened to be looking right at us.

Wait, are those mean looking men coming this way?

Oh dear.

* * *

_AN: Well, there you go! Since I've been snowed in and had these snow days, I decided to dedicate that time on a new chapter, since I haven't been able to get a fast update since the summer. Hope you guys enjoyed it. I'd appreciate any feedback, if there's typos and such, if something didn't make sense, or whatever you'd like. I wouldn't be surprised if I typed something that utterly didn't make sense... I typed this while cooped up inside my house all day D: I might've been going crazy from all these snow days!_

_Anyways. Stay warm! (Especially if you've been hit by this massive storm!)_

_-Kat_


	15. The Bard and The Warrior

_AN: Thanks for the feedback you guys! I appreciate it! You're all fantastic. Sorry for the wait since the "super update"! Things happen, y'know? School related stuff started kicking my butt again. Anywho, just wrapping it up in Lothering, then the exciting things shall begin! :D Also, I think at this part and beyond, I will be able to add more original dialogue! I like the game dialogue, but adding your own is pretty fun as well. I'm pretty excited. So far, I have not been able to update some things in the past chapters, go figure, just thought I should let you all know haha._

_Now.. Read! :D_

* * *

_KPOV_

**Chapter 15. The Bard and The Warrior**

Dane's Refuge.

The tavern had a nice feeling to it. Bustling with people, drunk or sober, a bard in the back was lightly playing tunes on a well-sounding lute, and a there was a certain feel in the room that made everything seem comfortable. It was almost like the taverns back in Highever; warm feeling, with a slight taste of ale in the air, with a possible expectation of a bar fight breaking out at any minute... Great stuff.

Unfortunately, just as we arrived, a group of men were suspiciously looking our way. Tough looking men, I might add. Uh, aggressive too. Maker. By the time I finally got Gavin's attention, who had been gawking aimlessly at a girl, the men came over and quickly accused us of being Grey Wardens. Apparently, they had been sent out specifically looking for a few people with the descriptions of Gavin, Alistair, and I. They were bent on arresting us, calling us traitors and such. Gavin's eyes lit up as a red haired Chantry woman came and tried to intervene, speaking on our behalf. We tried talking to them... But it failed. They wouldn't listen to us at all. Before we knew it, they charged and a fight commenced.

Several people either left the inn as they heard our conversation going sour, or people backed up to give us some space. The Chantry woman, to my surprise, joined us in our fight against them. Heh, funny seeing someone in Chantry robes fighting. We focused on our main attention on the leader, whom upon weakening, quickly surrendered along with his men. When the fighting ceased, Gavin and I had a way of playing with their minds, telling them of Loghain's disloyalty to the king, not ours. Maker, did they look flustered!

We left them with a message to Loghain before having them run off: He'll have to do better than this... And that Gavin sends his greetings.

As the men ran out with tails between their legs, the woman began speaking with us. "I apologize for interfering, but I felt as though I needed to help."

Gavin smirked, taking a sly, smooth step ahead of me, "I appreciate it, now, what might your name be, my lady?"

And I could already feel my eyes rolling. Yup, there they go.

She giggled, "I am Leliana, one of the lay sisters of the chantry here in Lothering... Well, I _was_."

"And I am Gavin," He did a quick, dramatic bow, "It's a pleasure."

He turned around to introduce the rest of us, "This is my sister, Keira, then Alistair, Morrigan, and even Carlin and Marilyn, down there."

"Charmed," she flashed a smile, "So is it true you're Grey Wardens? The ones that battle darkspawn, yes?"

She even uses Gavin's "yes" addition at the end of a question. Ah I could picture his "laying on the charm" to be at a higher magnitude than usual. Just little things or coincidences like that just spark his interest even more. Not that I disapprove or am annoyed by this, I am indifferent. I just don't like the fact that some of the women he flirts with might be tramps, tarts, and whatever else! This woman does seem nice though, unlike some of the other random women he has flirted among.

"Yes, that's right!" Gavin exclaimed, "Does that interest you in any way?"

Leliana nodded with a look of glee, clasping her hands together, "Yes! Very much so. You need all the help, so that's why I'm coming along."

"You're what?" - "Pardon?" - "Come again?"

Alistair, Morrigan, and I all spoke in unison as our mouths fell open. This girl was serious and got down to business, that's for sure.

"Hmm.." Gavin thought out loud, "I _will_ need help, this is true."

"The Maker wanted me to go with you."

Err, what?

I cleared my throat, "Can you uh, elaborate?"

She spoke with hesitance, tripping over her tongue, "I-I know that's crazy.. You see, I had a dream! A vision!" Maker, well, she still is nice, at least.

"Crazy? I thought we were all full up." Alistair added with a dry tone.

"You need to help the people here, Sister." I said.

"Ah!" Gavin let out as he dipped his head back with frustration, "Guys!" He turned back to us, dragging out the word.

After a bit more discussion, Leliana gave up. I would at least consider it, but I am just not sure about having her join us. She is nice, and does possess some type of skills, but is she stable in the head? I suppose I kept listening to Morrigan and Alistair, who did not seem that approving. Gavin, on the other hand, was completely and utterly entangled with the idea of having her join us. The woman hunched her shoulders in defeat, just adding that we at least think about it. And I would, truly. Alistair, Morrigan, and I moved on, heading over to talk with the bartender. However, in the corner of my eye, I saw Gavin run up to Leliana as she was about to head out the door. He was whispering something in her ear. What was he up to?... Whatever it was, he was trying fairly hard to keep it from me, as I could not directly read any of his thoughts.

_What was that about?_

He strolled his way back to us, keeping a grin on his face, _You'll see._

We ordered some food right away, hungry from the morning's journey. Thankfully, the owner, who was also the bartender, gladly set aside what had just occurred in the middle of his place after we had said our apologies. They served out some food to us, much to our happiness. They even had my favorite type of biscuits, lucky day! I suddenly had a fuzzy feeling in my stomach, like everything in the coming days will only get better. Whether it was the biscuits or the ale that caused this feeling, I'm not sure. The bartender surprisingly was accepting of Carlin and Marilyn in, as he seemed very approving of their breed. Mabari dogs were praised throughout Ferelden, and the bartender seemed to have a soft spot for them, giving them each a bone from the leftover meals.

At the other side of the bar, a man was looking right at us. I'm hoping he isn't getting suspicious of anything, we didn't grab that much attention, did we? Ah then again, I think everyone knows we're Grey Wardens after those men made a fuss about it. He gave a light grin, and waved to signal us over. I looked at Gavin, who appeared to notice the same thing. He shrugged, giving me a look of "let's go over there and see what's up". I nodded in agreement.

The man was sitting at a table with two other women, whom I'm guessing are his siblings since they seemed to resemble each other in a way. All had similar facial features, and slightly tanned complexion with dark full hair. I was going to take a guess that they were from around here, they did not look like any normal refugees. With their attire, they did not seem to fit in. As we approached, one of the women stood up to greet us, illuminating the area with a wide grin and piercing blue eyes to match. She extended her hand out to me, "Some impressive fighting back there, if I may say so. You Grey Wardens seem alright." She smiled, "The name's Keelin."

I smiled back, reaching out to shake her hand, "Thanks, and I'm Keira." I waved my hand to my companions besides me, "This is my brother Gavin, and my friends Alistair and Morrigan."

She nodded her head at them all, "Pleased to meet you all. This is my younger brother and sister, Carver and Bethany, or Beth for short."

I could see Gavin's all too familiar grin from the corner of my eye, "Keelin, it's nice to meet _you_."

She chuckled to herself as she took a seat. Her brother motioned his hand toward the table, "Please, feel free to pull up a chair and join us."

We found a couple chairs nearby and joined them. They seemed to be a good group of people, and they looked to be fighters as well. While I saw Carver and Keelin wield blades for themselves, Beth did not seem to hold anything with her. This intrigued me, knowing that most families do not normally just train one child in such things and not another. Thinking for a moment, I hypothesized that maybe, **maybe** she was a mage. An apostate mage. That would not surprise me out in this area, being that it seems like it could be fairly easy to get around the Chantry here.

"So, welcome to Lothering!" Keelin exclaimed as she extended her arms out. "You bunch don't seem like the refugees we've been seeing lately."

Gavin leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms proudly, "It's cause we're not."

"We noticed your fighting skills," Beth said, "I admit we were curious, as we do not see that out here quite often."

"Honey, those aren't the only skills I have." Gavin smirked.

Alistair shook his head next to me, "I think what he's trying to say, is thank you."

Carver smiled, "We know a thing or two ourselves, which is why we were interested in talking with you."

"Ah yes," Morrigan mumbled, "Yet another distraction so far in our journey."

I shifted my eyes over to Morrigan, then back to the rest of the table, hoping they did not hear anything. I awkwardly smiled, hesitating on my words, "Sooo.. Do you live around here?"

Keelin nodded, "Yes, we live on the outskirts of Lothering, but we came in today to gather some supplies." She pointed to the door, "Our mother is wandering about gathering some things.. While we decided to give the ol' tavern a visit."

Gavin chuckled, "You seem like a fun group already."

"We try." Keelin shrugged. "Hopefully you bunch are only passing through," her voice lowered, "You wouldn't want to be here within the coming weeks... Or days. Place will be overrun by darkspawn, I hear." That part is definitely true. It was only a matter of time before they would reach Lothering. Ostagar isn't that far off, so it would not be too long before they made their way up here. It took us just most of a morning to get here from Flemeth's hut... Perhaps we should try to wrap things up in this town quickly.

"We know." Alistair said with a sigh, "We decided to just stop here for supplies, but we did not expect so many people to be here." He sighed, "Hopefully everyone will evacuate in time."

"Psh," Keelin scoffed, "I guarantee that the first people, if not the only people, to evacuate will be the Chantry priests and their templars."

"Quite the accurate guess," Morrigan stated with eloquence as she turned to the templar next to her, "Wouldn't you agree, Alistair?"

Silence from the other side.

"Alright then." Morrigan shrugged.

Beth broke the silence as she cleared her throat, "So.." She started, "I don't mean to seem nosy, but where are you all heading to?"

"Um.." I mumbled to myself.

Tell them the truth? Or not? Well, maybe we ought as well. That run in with those guys back there kind of exposed the fact that we were Grey Wardens.. But should we tell them? I suppose we could, they don't seem like the type to object to that. If they already know we're Grey Wardens, we might as well just spill the beans. How do I even begin though? We were saved by a senile lady from the top of a tower and we're off to destroy a dragon? Riiiight. Maybe I should leave this to a certain someone.. I hope I don't regret this later. Even though I probably will.

I turned to Gavin, _I think that's your cue. Try to keep it short._

With a satisfied grin, Gavin lifted his chin up with confidence as he spoke, "You see, my dear lady.." His grin widened at the flattered look on the young lady's face, "We are fighters. And wanderers, I might add- Nomads! If you will." He sighed, "My dear sister and I are escaping a troublesome fate as we are being hunted by bounty hunters." He lowered his voice as he pointed to the two next to him, "My former lover and boyish childhood friend decided to tag along."

You're kidding me.

_**Your cue** doesn't mean you lie.._

_You never saaaid, _Gavin thought in a sing-song voice.

With a skeptical chuckle, Beth raised a brow, "No, really."

"Um, well. Since there's a Blight, we kinda have to do something about it.." Could I say that any more awkwardly?

"Oh, of course!" Beth gasped, "I somewhat forgot you were Grey Wardens. My apologies."

The group of us conversed some more, as Carver did not know much about the Grey Wardens, he asked some questions. We explained the background of the Grey Wardens to him, well, at least what we were allowed to tell. None of that Joining business could be discussed of course. We told them of old legends, and the duty we had to uptake when we became Wardens. Gavin, Alistair, and I kept having to change the subject as Keelin was very persistent when it came to finding out how to join. I was a bit shocked that Morrigan threw in her own two cents during the conversations. Surprisingly, I felt at ease talking to them about the Wardens, while earlier we tried our best not to mention it. I think Gavin thought this too, and perhaps even Alistair felt the same way. I mean, it was nice that someone out there did not hate our guts. Or think that we murdered the king. Or think that we're traders. Did I mention hate our guts?

As we told part of our story to the group, they gladly shared theirs. They grew up living around this area, by Lothering. Their father passed away a couple years ago and they now live with just their mother. I was right in my suspicions earlier about their fighting skills. Keelin had a similar fighting style compared to myself, while Carver fought like a warrior, somewhat like Alistair and Gavin. My other suspicion also seemed to prove itself possible, during this part of the discussion, Bethany only looked down at the table aimlessly. I couldn't help but have the feeling that Alistair sensed her to be an apostate, though, he said nothing. We also learned some other interesting things. Apparently, Keelin and Carver were part of the King's Army at Ostagar... They somehow escaped after the battle was clearly lost.

I looked over to Alistair, whose jaw was clenched, keeping an exterior that was not true to what he felt. He still is not over the events at Ostagar, and I don't blame him one bit. I can't read what he was feeling at all, whether it be anger or grief, guilt or shock. Though I did feel a stab of sadness in me, I also felt a feeling of relief come over me. They were able to survive the onslaught of darkspawn, so who is to say that Fergus could not?

_You're thinking that too, huh?_

I shifted my eyes to Gavin for a moment, _Of course. Fergus is out there, somewhere. Got to be._

"So," Keelin said with a sigh, "After the battle at Ostagar, we barely made it out. Right away, we headed up here and met up with Mother and Beth. We're trying to make our way out of here completely as soon as possible. Like we said, darkspawn will be upon this town sooner or later, whether we like it or not."

"I see..." I muttered, "Best of luck to you, all of you."

"Hmmm..." Gavin began stroking his chin as he sat there in thought. After a few moments passed, he lifted his head with an all too familiar smirk, "You bunch are welcome to join us, you know. We could use some help."

"Us?" Carver asked, eyes lighting up with excitement, "Fighting alongside of Grey Wardens?" Though, Keelin and Bethany did not seem to share the same enthusiasm as their brother.

"Tempting offer," Keelin said, "However, I'm not sure Mother would have an easy time traveling around like this."

A frown began to form on Carver's lips, "Oh, that's right..."

"Besides, I think our mother has a plan in mind for us." Bethany added.

"Damn." Gavin sighed, "It's a shame to hear that, as traveling with you would prove to be very.. Uplifting, so to speak."

"Yes, well perhaps we will meet up with you in the future," Keelin proposed, "Though we do not know where our mother intends to retreat to, we might cross paths at the off chance." She chuckled softly to herself, "Actually, I know we'll cross paths someday. You'll see."

She smiled with promise, more so than you could ever expect from a total stranger. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I believed her. Her smile had a quality of reassurance to it, something you don't find just anywhere. I think it gave me complete belief in her words; total genuineness. Though someone would say something like that just to make conversation, or to give that false hope with no intention to follow through, I don't think that is the case with her. Keelin and her family seemed interesting, kind, and well-rounded people. I feel a bit silly coming to this conclusion, being that we just met only moments ago. Perhaps that drink that Morrigan offered me earlier today was messing with my head, or perhaps it isn't... I hope it isn't.

"Well, this was nice, truly it was," Morrigan interrupted my thoughts with rushed words, "However..."

She looked at me, hinting a retreat in her eyes. Before I could say anything, to my surprise, Gavin spoke up.

"We should probably get going," he said with a hint of remorse, "Shame that you all can't come along, but we'll meet up eventually."

"After all this Blight business has passed," Alistair added in a low voice.

We all stood up from the table, getting ready to leave the group before us. We shook their hands, saying our goodbyes and such.

"Remember," Gavin said in a bubbly tone, "Look up Gavin Cousland in the future. Don't forget." He looked over at me, "Oh, and Keira Cousland too."

They nodded, chuckling with him. Keelin and her siblings smiled as she extended her arm to shake Gavin's hand, "You and your friends remember something as well."

Her smile widened, "Keelin Hawke. Don't forget."

With that, we left the tavern. It was nice to talk to converse with them for a bit, and slowly, with each person that we encountered, I realized that not everyone necessarily hates our guts. It will surely decrease as we press on, gathering allies with different people and clearing our name - the Grey Warden's name.

On our way to the qunari's cage, we got distracted... Again. Go figure, right? We stopped by and conversed with some people, going through tedious tasks that most likely won't help them **or** Lothering in the long run, but what kind of people would we be if we said no? Even if it's not stopping the darkspawn from the inevitable invasion of the town, it still made the people feel more at peace, more comfortable. Whether our help was providing a bit of coin, or perhaps obtaining medicine for them, it was the small contribution we could make for the town. We also decided to take this time for more shopping, gathering needed supplies or whatever we thought we would use.

When the last of the tasks were done, we walked on over to the qunari's cage. Gavin had told me a bit about him on the way, his name was Sten. I knew little about the qunari people, as did everyone else. I was somewhat surprised by the size of the man once we approached, Maker he was tall! Gavin talked with him, I suppose resuming his conversation with Sten from earlier.

Gleefully, Gavin spoke, "So, I have the key to open your cage!" He held the key out victoriously.

"Hmph." Sten grunted, "I must say, I did not think she would part with it."

He chuckled, "Yes well.. She did."

Sten then whipped his head at me, arching a brow, "Who is this? I did not notice this woman with you before."

Right away, Gavin slapped an arm around my shoulders, "My sister, Keira. Keira, Sten. Sten, Keira."

"Heh," I smiled awkwardly, "Nice to meet you, Sten."

"Again, you humans mock me... Or again you show manners. Unexpected."

Gavin began shaking his head, "No, no, ignore that." He waved his hands, "Here, you can achieve atonement by aiding us."

".. So be it. Set me free and I follow you against the Blight." The qunari spoke eloquently, with a calm tone.

"Perfect!" Gavin exclaimed as he put in the key, the forced open the door of the cage.

"So it is done." Sten concluded. "Let us proceed, I am eager to be elsewhere."

Gavin nodded, obviously satisfied with Sten's joining of our group. As I inspected the cage a bit, I noticed the bars on the door were surprisingly... Large. Large enough for a person to fit through. Did no one else notice this? All you have to do is plot right through! Bam, you're out. Easy enough. Though this somewhat bewildered me that anyone would even make a cage such as this, and thinking that Sten could have possibly squeezed out, I proceeded onward with the others.

_By the way, I did notice the cage like that._ He grinned to himself,_ I think it's funny._

We walked on toward the other entrance of the Imperial Highway, just beyond the town's gates. As we were heading toward the ramp, I saw a familiar figure at the bottom of it. Is that?... It is. Leliana stood patiently and smiled at our approach.

"Hello, Gavin!"

I had a feeling this was planned out.

"Hello to you too, Leliana." Gavin said with a smirk.

"So, have you all thought about it any? Could I come? Please?" She brought her hands together, moving it in a begging motion. She really seems to want to come this badly... I guess I don't see any harm in bringing her along. She seems dedicated, more than anything.

"... I suppose it does seem like she wants to help." Alistair muttered in an approving voice.

Perhaps I should have been more accepting earlier.. "Well, I suppose you're welcome to come with us." I smiled, trying to make her feel a bit more welcome.

"Yes!" Leliana and Gavin both exclaimed together.

Before pressing on through the highway, we ran into a group of dwarven merchants at the top of the ramp. Two, maybe three darkspawn were attacking them and their goods. We quickly put a stop to it, and the two dwarves thanked us for helping. They offered to tag along, so we thought "Why not?" We all set out further and began to put Lothering behind us, step by step.

We beat on, like boats against a current, officially setting off to what seemed like an impossible mission.

* * *

_There you go! So, since Dragon Age 2 has not come out yet, I do not know the whole story with Hawke and his or her family, or really much of their personality. So I made it up as I went :D I had to include Hawke in some way, since the game comes out in a week! So excited for it, You have no idea! Anyways, have a good one! Feedback appreciated! I think I caught all the typos, but again, I'm not sure, so feel free to let me know._

_-Kat_


End file.
